The jumper that highlights plight of Afghan girls

Richard Pohle was in a remote mountain village in Afghanistan taking pictures of a businesswoman for our Christmas charity appeal when a small girl wandered into the shot.

It was only when the Times photographer was editing his pictures that he noticed the Afghan girl was wearing the bright red uniform of Westbury-on-Severn CE Primary School, 3,500 miles away in Gloucestershire.

Pohle and Catherine Philp, the Times diplomatic correspondent, had reached the village of Sal-e-Taka-Ghal after a flight from Kabul to Ghor province and two long road journeys. They were chronicling the work of Afghanaid, one of three charities chosen for this year’s appeal.

Pohle said: “The Afghan village was as remote as you can get. It was amazing to find a girl wearing a primary school cardigan from Gloucestershire.”

The photograph highlights both the fragility of life for the people of Afghanistan and the generosity of the British public.

So far, readers have donated more than £340,000 to Afghanaid, which provides humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, during our Christmas appeal.

Anna-Mai Armstrong, the head teacher of the Gloucestershire school, said the most likely explanation was that a parent had given the cardigan to a clothes bank run by the Salvation Army that sits just outside its gates.

However, the Salvation Army said that while it previously had collections to support Afghan refugees coming to the UK, it could not explain how the uniform made its way to Afghanistan.

Armstrong said: “It’s an incredible photo. It’s an up-to-date school uniform — it’s exactly as our children are wearing now. It’s got all its buttons and it’s in really good condition.”

She added: “I’m going to use this photo in an assembly to talk to the children about how a small act can have such a far-reaching impact across the world.”

The photograph also shines a spotlight on schooling in Afghanistan at a time when the ruling Taliban are cracking down on girls and women in education. Last month they banned women from university. Most girls are already barred from attending secondary schools.

Women have also been forced out of many government jobs and are banned from travelling on their own without a male guardian. They face pressure to wear the conservative burqa, their faces hidden behind a mesh screen.

A female Afghanaid worker said: “They are excluding women in a systematic way. The development of women’s education and rights had been gaining . . . all that is gone now.”

She added that she had heard the Taliban were now banning female teachers from some schools in the country.

Afghanaid is helping to improve the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan. The charity’s projects in Ghor include a self-help group to support female businesses, set up using Afghanaid’s funds.

The charity has now temporarily suspended operations in Afghanistan, after a new decree announced by the Taliban on Christmas Eve that bans women from working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

While Afghanaid’s operations are suspended, the generous donations we have received as part of our appeal will be held securely in its UK bank accounts.

When the charity feels able to restart operations, the appeal funds will once again be effectively mobilised and put to use to support the humanitarian and development work being carried out in Afghanistan.