Did you know that Afghanistan's education system is one of the weakest in the world? In 1996 a fundamentalist Muslim group, known as the Taliban, ruled the country (Mohammed, 2 years old), which had a huge impact on education. Although both men and women were educated, fewer women attended school during this period. In the Afghanistan area, school and education have been considered a fundamental part of the past, present and of every culture (Fabrizio). Afghanistan's education system has struggled due to various conflicts as organizations from around the world have contributed to the improvement and quality of education throughout the region which has had a lasting impact on the Afghan people. There are many reasons that have caused education in Afghanistan to weaken and become one of the poorest countries in the world. One of these reasons includes the war which brought devastating violence to the country. The war was fought between the Soviets and the Afghans in 1978. At that time, the literacy rate of both males and females was very low. For males the literacy rate was 18% and for females 5%. Additionally, enrollment rates of students attending the schools were 54% for males and only 12% for females. From 1978 to 1992, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and as the war continued to progress, two types of education systems emerged. One was established by mujahideen groups with Western support, while the other was provided by the communist Soviets. As the two systems formed, the Soviets attempted to use their education system to impose social changes on rural Afghans. The Soviet style of social changes contradicted the religious and social value of Afghanistan... middle of paper... being eleven million people. Schools do not have adequate facilities and the number of qualified teachers is still low (Qazi). Today, Afghanistan is recovering from the impact of twenty-five years of instability that destroyed the poor educational infrastructure that existed before 1979 and the war that followed (Mohammed, 2). Due to various internal conflicts in Afghanistan, the education system has struggled as organizations from around the world have contributed to improvements that are leaving a lasting impact on the Afghan population. Furthermore, the constitution of Afghanistan, adopted in January 2004, states that education is the right of all citizens, both men and women, and up to a certain level it is free (Qazi). As Afghanistan has long boasted one of the poorest education levels in the world, it continues to progress towards success.