Al Qaeda: An organization that conducts acts of terror, war, and destruction of targets all over the world in order to establish a global Islamic caliphate
Amu Darya: A river in northeastern Afghanistan and southern Tajikistan
arak: Fermented mare’s milk, used in central Asia
As-Salaam Alaaikum: In Arabic, “Peace be with you,” the standard Islamic greeting
Baba Gundi Ziarat: A shrine at the end of the Charpurson Valley in extreme northern Pakistan
Badakshan: A province in northeastern Afghanistan that includes the Wakhan Corridor
baf: “Excellent” in the Wakhi language
Bagram Airbase: A main air base of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, and also a Soviet base from 1979 to 1989
Baharak: A town in Badakshan Province (in northeastern Afghanistan) with a population of eighteen thousand; site of the first CAI school built in Afghanistan
Balakot: A city in northern Pakistan that was devastated during the October 2005 earthquake
Balti: A tribal group, mostly Shia, that lives in the Karakoram range in northeastern Pakistan
Baltistan: A region in northeastern Pakistan
Bam-I-Dunya: A Wakhi word meaning “Roof of the World,” referring to central Asia’s Pamir mountain range
Bamiyan: A city in northern Afghanistan
Barg-e Matal: A town in Nuristan Province (in eastern Afghanistan) frequently attacked by Taliban
bida: An Arabic term meaning “corrupting modernization”
Bozai Gumbaz: A settlement in the eastern Wakhan inhabited by nomadic Kirghiz people
BSF: Afghanistan’s Border Security Force
burka: A loose robe worn by some women in Afghanistan and Pakistan that covers the entire body; also spelled “burqa”
bushkashi: A traditional central Asian game played on horseback
CENTCOM: U.S. military Central Command
Central Asia Institute (CAI): Greg Mortenson’s nonprofit organization, founded in 1996 with the mission of promoting education for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan (see www.ikat.org)
chapatti: Flat, unleavened bread similar to a pita or a tortilla
Char Asiab: A valley south of Kabul where the CAI has a school
Charpurson Valley: A valley in northern Pakistan whose name means “place of nothing” in Wakhi
Chokidar: A security guard in Pakistan or Afghanistan
COIN: The acronym for military counterinsurgency operations
commandhan: An Afghan term for a local militia commander
Dari: A form of the Farsi language; spoken in Afghanistan
Deh Rawod: A town in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan
dua: An Islamic prayer accompanied by a gesture of bringing the palms together and pointing them upward
dupatta: A head scarf worn by girls
Faizabad: The capital of Badakshan Province, Afghanistan
Farsi: The Persian language of Iran
fauji: A term for the military in Pakistan
FOB: U.S. military forward operating base
FWO: Frontier Works Organization, Pakistan’s military civil engineering division
Gilgit: A town in Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan
Gundi Piran Higher Secondary School for Girls: A school in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, destroyed by the October 2005 earthquake
Helmand Province: A Southern Afghanistan province where four thousand U.S. Marines were deployed in July 2009
Himalayas: The mountain range in southern Asia that borders Burma, India, China, Nepal, Tibet, and Pakistan
Hindu Kush: A mountain range in western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan
Id (also spelled Eid): One of the biggest Islamic holidays, which marks the end of Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast
imam: An Islamic spiritual leader who has had significant training
Inshallah: In Arabic, “God willing”; often used to mean that the speaker hopes something will occur or that he or she will be able to accomplish something, and God’s help and blessing will be needed
Irshad Pass: A 16,335-foot pass between northern Pakistan and the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan
Ishkoshem: A town in Badakshan Province, Afghanistan
Islam: The Arabic word for “peace” and the world’s second-largest religion, based on the teaching of the Prophet Mohammed
Islamabad: The capital of Pakistan
Ismaili: A liberal offshoot of Shia Islam whose spiritual leader is Prince Karim Aga Khan
Jalalabad: A city in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan
Jalozai Refugee Camp: An Afghan refugee camp in western Pakistan
jihad: An Arabic word meaning “internal struggle,” which takes places in two forms: the greater jihad, which is the internal struggle for enlightenment and improvement of one’s self, and the lesser jihad, which is the fight against an enemy of Islam
jirga: A village council or meeting
jumat khana: An Ismaili place of worship
Kabul: Afghanistan’s capital and largest city
Kali-Panj: A town in central Wakhan, Afghanistan
Kandahar: A city in southern Afghanistan
Karakoram: A mountain range in northern Pakistan containing the world’s greatest consolidation of high peaks
Karakoram Highway (KKH): The arterial link road between China and northern Pakistan, completed in 1978
Kashmir: The mountainous region on the border of India and Pakistan
Khundud: A town in the Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan
Khyber Pass: A mountain pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan
Kirghiz: Sunni nomadic pastoralists who inhabit the eastern end of the Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan
Korphe: A village in northern Pakistan and the site of the CAI’s first school
Kunar: A province in eastern Afghanistan
kwalai: A white skullcap used for prayer by Muslims
Lalander: A village south of Kabul where the CAI’s first school in Afghanistan was built
LOC: The acronym for “Line of Control,” the disputed border between India and Pakistan
Logar: A province southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan
lunghai: A type of wrap-around turban worn by Pashtun tribal people
madrassa: An Arabic word meaning “educational institution”
maktab: Dari and Pashto word meaning “school” used in Afghanistan
Mardhan Shar: The capital of Wardak Province, Afghanistan
Mazar-i-Sharif: A city in northern Afghanistan
Mi-17 and Mi-24: Soviet military helicopters used in Afghanistan
muezzin: A chanter in a mosque who intones the call to prayer
muhajir: The term for “refugee” in Pakistan and Afghanistan
mujahadeen: An Arabic word meaning “struggler” and the name given to the Afghan freedom fighters
mullah: A community Islamic leader
Muslim: A person who practices Islam
Muzaffarabad: The capital of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
naan: A type of thick bread commonly eaten in Afghanistan
nanwatey: The Pashtun code affording the right of refuge and protection to all guests
Naray: A district in northern Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Neelum Valley: The epicenter of the 2005 earthquake in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
nemek choi: The Wakhi word for salt tea mixed with goat’s milk and yak butter
NGO: The international term for “nongovernmental organization”
night letter: A threatening letter delivered under cover of darkness by the Taliban
Northwest Frontier Province: A tribal area in northwestern Pakistan; one of Pakistan’s five provincial areas
Nuristan: A province in eastern Afghanistan
nurmadhar: An Urdu term meaning “village chief”
Operation Enduring Freedom: The official U.S. military designation for the war in Afghanistan started in 2001
opium bride: A daughter sold into slavery to pay for an opium habit
pakhol: A Dari and Pashtun term for the woolen hat often worn by mujahadeen
Pamirs: A mountain range in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and China known as the Roof of the World
Panjshir: A province and valley in northern Afghanistan
Pashto: The language spoken by Pashtun tribal peoples, who live along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border
Peshawar: A city in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border
pir: A Wakhi/Tajik term meaning “elder”
Pul-e-Khumri: A town in northern Afghanistan
purdah: An Urdu and Hindi term meaning “curtain,” which refers to the cultural tradition of women covering themselves in public
Qayamat: An Urdu term meaning “apocalypse”
rupee: The unit of money used in Pakistan, India, and other countries
Salang: A strategic pass and tunnel north of Kabul
Sarhad: A village at the end of the only road through the Wakhan Corridor
shaheed: An Arabic word meaning “martyr”
shalwar kamiz: Loose, pajama-like pants and top worn in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Shia: The second-largest Muslim denomination worldwide, at 17 percent
shura: A word used in Afghanistan meaning “an elder”
SOCOM: The acronym for the U.S. Special Operations Command
Sunni: The main sect of Islam, representing 82 percent of Muslims worldwide
Swat Valley: An area in northern Pakistan ruled by the Taliban for two years until 2009
Tajikistan: A mountainous country north of Afghanistan
tanzeem: A word used in Afghanistan and Pakistan meaning “village committee”
Uighur: An Islamic people who live in far western China
ulema: An Arabic term for Islamic religious leaders
Urdu: The national language of Pakistan
Uruzgan: A province in southwestern Afghanistan
USAID: The acronym for the United States Agency for International Development
Waalaikum-Salaam: An Arabic phrase meaning “May peace be with you also”
Wakhan Corridor: A 120-mile-long corridor in northeastern Afghanistan
Wakhi: A Persian tribal people who live in the central Wakhan and northern Pakistan
Waziristan: A region of western Pakistan located in the Northwest Frontier Province
Xinjiang: A province in far western China with a significant proportion of Uighur ethnic Muslims
Yardar: A hamlet near the town of Baharak in Badakshan Province, Afghanistan
zalzala: The Urdu term for “earthquake”
Baharak school girls, Badakshan Province, Afghanistan
Investing in Girls’ Education Yields Huge Returns
Income Growth
Girls’ education leads to increased income for the girls themselves and for nations as a whole. Increasing the share of women with a secondary education by 1 percent boosts annual per-capita income growth by 0.3 percent. That’s significant, since per-capita income gains in developing countries seldom exceed 3 percent a year.1
Educating girls also boosts farming productivity. Educated farmers are more efficient and their farms are more productive, which leads to increased crop yields and declines in malnutrition.2
Maternal and Children’s Health
Educated women have smaller, healthier, and better-educated families.
The better educated the women in a society, the lower the fertility rate. A 2000 study in Brazil found that literate women had an average of 2.5 children while illiterate women had an average of six children.3
The better educated the women, the lower the infant mortality rate. “The mother’s education is often the single most important influence on children’s survival. . . . Educated mothers learn how to keep their children healthy and how to use health services, improve nutrition and sanitation, and take advantage of their own increased earning capability. Girls who stay in school also marry later, when they are better able to bear and care for children.”5
By increasing health-care knowledge and reducing the number of pregnancies, female education significantly reduces the risk of maternal mortality.4
Educated women are more likely to insist on education for their own children, especially their daughters. Their children study as much as two hours more each day than children of illiterate mothers and stay in school longer.5
Women’s Empowerment
Educated girls and women are more likely to stand up for themselves and resist violence: “In poor areas where women are isolated within their communities, have little education and cannot earn much, girls are often regarded as an economic burden and women and girls sometimes suffer deliberate neglect or outright harm.”5
Educated women channel more of their resources to the health and education of their children than men do.5
Educated women are more likely to participate in political discussions, meetings, and decision making.5
Studies show that education promotes more representative, effective government. As women are educated and approach parity with men, research shows that “governments and other institutions function better and with less corruption.”5
Girls who become literate tend to teach their mothers how to read and write, much more than do males.6
When vegetables or meat wrapped in newspapers are brought home from the bazaar, women often ask their literate daughters to read the news to them and can understand more about the dynamic world around them.6
Key Ingredients in Successfully Building Girls’ Schools
The Council on Foreign Relations’ What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World spells out several critical elements for successful girls’ schools, many of which Central Asia Institute has incorporated:7
Build schools close to girls’ homes. School-age children are 10 percent to 20 percent more likely to attend school if they live in a village with a primary school. Proximity also increases parental involvement.
Insist on community involvement. Community schools tend to meet culture norms and use local language. Community-based and community-supported schools generally have higher enrollment and quality and lower dropout rates.
Build “girl-friendly” schools. Girls’ schools must have private latrines and boundary walls. In some cases, it’s most appropriate to build separate schools for girls.
Provide female teachers. Recruit locally. Even very young women can teach programmed curricula effectively if they are trained and supported.
Focus on quality education. Ensure that a school has enough teachers, ongoing teacher training, heavy emphasis on math and science, and adequate books and supplies.
Take Action
1. Visit www.stonesintoschools.com for more info, book reviews, events, and ideas. If you purchase books online, click to Amazon or Ingram and up to 7 percent of all your book or other purchases will go to the Central Asia Institute (www.ikat.org) and be given to a girls’ education scholarship fund in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
3. Check if Stones into Schools is in your local library. If not, either donate a copy or suggest to the library that they add Stones into Schools to their collection. Ask your friends or family in other states to do this also.
4. Encourage your local independent or chain bookstore to carry this book if they do not have it.
5. Write a Stones into Schools book review for Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or a blog. Your candid comments will help bring awareness to this (or any) book and the causes they educate the public about.
6. Ask the book editor of your local newspaper or radio station to consider letting you review the book.
7. Pennies for Peace, www.penniesforpeace.org, is designed for schoolchildren. Get
your local school involved to make a difference, one penny and one pencil at a time. Since 1994, more than two hundred million pennies have been raised through Pennies for Peace.
8. If you want to support our efforts to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, you can make a tax-deductible contribution to our nonprofit organization, Central Asia Institute, PO Box 7209, Bozeman, MT 59771, phone 406- 585-7841, www.ikat.org. It costs us $1.00 per month for one child’s education in Pakistan or Afghanistan, a penny to buy a pencil, and a teacher’s salary averages $1.50 per day.
9. Please direct media or Stones into Schools inquires to info@ stonesintoschools.com or call 406-585-7841.
For more information contact:
Central Asia Institute
PO Box 7209
Bozeman, MT 59771
406-585-7841
www.ikat.org
info@ikat.org
Index
Page numbers in italics refer to maps and illustrations.
Aanam (fourth-grade student)
ABC-TV
Abdul (orphan)
Abdullah, Abdullah
Afghan Aid
Afghan Air Force
Afghanistan
education in
elections in
ethnic diversity in
kidnapping in
land mines in
mujahadeen rivalries in
opium trade in
poverty in
Soviet occupation of
Taliban insurgency in
Taliban regime in
U.S. aid to
U.S. military aid to
women’s education in
women’s status in
see also specific villages and regions
Afghanistan, U.S. war in
civilian casualties in
Afghan National Army
Afghan Women’s Co-op
Afghan Women’s Council, U.S.
Africa
Aga Khan Development Network
Aga Khan Foundation
Ahmad, Sher