Comments

Glad to know this.

Thank you. That is indeed the much harder question. Our study cannot tell us how to persuade the Taliban directly. What it does show is that sustainable access to education also depends on support within households and communities. In the meantime, international organisations can help preserve educational opportunities through virtual learning, scholarships and internationally recognised certification. The Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education in Iran is one example of how alternative educational channels can sustain human capital when a group is excluded from formal higher education. There may also be room for conditional international engagement. Humanitarian assistance should not be used as leverage against vulnerable households, but some forms of development assistance, reconstruction support or economic cooperation could be linked to concrete progress on girls’ education. These measures should complement continued political and diplomatic efforts to restore full access to formal education.

Thank you for sharing this very interesting evidence from Upper Kohistan. It is consistent with one of the main messages of our study: attitudes toward girls’ and women’s education are not necessarily fixed and may change with greater exposure to education, economic opportunities and community-level interventions. The Pakistan experience is especially valuable because it shows how such changes can emerge gradually over time. At the same time, contexts differ, and our Afghanistan evidence is based on observational survey data, so we are cautious about causal interpretation. Still, the example you provide strongly reinforces the importance of sustained local engagement alongside formal education policy.

During my time working in the Worker Welfare space at DEWR, I saw firsthand just how complex and human the PALM welfare support system really is. Reading this Devpolicy analysis brought back many of the situations, conversations, and challenges I dealt with daily. This piece captures the gap between what the system looks like on paper and how it functions in real life. The welfare framework itself is incredibly detailed. I spent countless hours helping employers interpret their obligations, and those fifty-six mandatory welfare requirements are far more demanding than most people outside the scheme realise. But what struck me most in my role was not the policy - it was the people in the PALM ecosystem, particularly the workers. I saw Approved Employers become surrogate families for workers. I supported employers who were organising medical appointments, helping workers navigate grief, supporting workers through homesickness, or stepping in during emergencies at all hours. I also witnessed employers host cultural celebrations, drive workers to church, or simply sit with someone who needed a familiar face. The above AE actions made the biggest difference to workers. At the same time, I saw situations where that surrogate family role was not fulfilled, and the impact was immediate. Workers became isolated, anxious, and unsure where to turn. In those moments, informal support networks, team leaders, diaspora groups and churches stepped up and stepped in. Before working for DEWR, I found myself working alongside these groups, and I came to deeply respect how much they carry without funding, recognition, or formal authority. They are whom I called, ‘angels of the outfield and Mother Marys.’ I appreciate what Randall Prior does in Community Connections and it sounds as if the Victorian collaborative model of welfare support could fill welfare support gaps in PALM. My experience in the DEW Critical Incident space was when DEWR staff, CLOs, employers, and community organisations shared information and worked together, issues were resolved faster and workers felt more supported. It is this kind of reach out and lean-in approach the system needs everywhere. I am also mindful of privacy considerations and welfare collaboration for workers. From my experience, the article’s recommendations are not just policy ideas - they are practical necessities. Welfare Officers need more training and support. Informal community networks need resourcing. Collaboration needs to be consistent, not optional. And public reporting would help everyone understand what is working and what is not and can judge the program’s effectiveness fairly. For me, worker welfare in PALM was never just a compliance framework. It was about people living far from home, trying to build a better future, and relying on a system that needs to be both strong and compassionate. When the relationships work - between employers, workers, DEWR, CLOs, and community groups - the whole scheme works. I say this however, the PALM scheme with its welfare shortcomings is a program that goes a long way in supporting individuals, families, communities and the sending countries’ and Australia’s economies and is worthy of continued improvement and investment to ensure its long-term legitimacy, integrity and sustainability.

A great work of you Dr Vergil! While you pointed out the circumstantial variations and intrinsic and inherent values of protecting our environment including ourselves as enshrined in our laws; we had lived experiences of man-made destruction by developers in pursuit of development income for the nation like PNG. Some of the developments went to the extent of destroying the ecosystem, the values and even affected the very survival of the flora and fauna, and human lives. As a learned litigator like yourself and others, it's appropriate and ideal time now to offer legal options to make developers be accountable for destruction they caused, without it, the legislators are bunch of hypocrites and brainless talkers, they will dine and wined with the so-called developers while the layers of the ecosystem continued to suffer. Knowing well the current environmental laws are soft, they continue to plunder the last remaining resources, in the sea, on the land, inside the land and rocks. The more refer to provisions in the current constitution, directives principles and the preambles on protecting the ecosystem, the developers are not giving us a shit. They will only react and pause if we have strong recuperable laws for damage caused to the layers of the ecosystem, you described - individual, family, village, natural environment and state, either we do it now or never. I understand your presentation is not to protect any individual in the ecosystem; I take to express what everyone else is feeling across PNG about the destructive use of environment by developers.

Men opposing women and girls education is common in tribal and especially patriarchal societies globally. This is because of the tradition and lack of exposure what and how women education is able to transform the society. After a prolonged exposure of men and women to the virtues of education through targeted interventions, men slowly and steadily change their attitudes towards women education and girls schooling. The latest evidence unfolded in the the district of Upper Kohistan, Pakistan is briefly produced below. The studies conducted in 2012 show that men have achieved 30% literacy whilst women literacy was zero. Similarly, girls schooling was around 10% compared with boys schooling of about 30%. Thirteen years into community support activities, a remarkable improvement in women literacy and girls schooling is seen. The impact assessment study conducted in 2025 has revealed that over 50% girls are enrolled in school whilst for boys the enrolment rate is 98%. Class attendance for girls and boys began regular at near 100%. Men who are working as labor in the construction project realized the value of education for their children. Many parents who opposed to their girls education since then began to enroll girls in school. Some parents have relocated to urban areas purely to support girls education. A number of private schools are found where both boys and girls are enrolled. The enrolment trend for both boys and girls is positive and is increasing in villages where activities relating to education and schooling are active compared to elsewhere such programs are absent. 2025 study shows that both men and women have improved their literacy, men reaching 50% whilst women 5%. Latest research shows a tendency where women are seeking employment opportunities as well, something unimaginable 10-15 years ago. There is also evidence that men are actively looking for establishments that can provide employment for their wives, a critical difference compared to some 12-13 years prior to the introduction of the community support program. The clear message is to continue with activities to support children schooling (for both boys and girls) and literacy improvement programs regardless of attitudes of men. One day we will see that men will change their attitudes towards girls schooling and their job seeking behavior for women. As we all know, education is the most powerful tool in the modern society and opportunity should be made available for every individual regardless of where they are.

All excellent research. Next step please: convincing the Taliban of this importance. How will you do this?

Thanks for the feedback, Richard.

Great work team! This is a very important piece of work and data collection to understand the depth and breadth of SARV in the society. Apart from FB acting as a platform informing and transmitting SARV cases in society to others or acting as a means to minimise the violence or further fueling violence, FB users only taking advantage of the introduction and accessibility of the Android technology. (Just imagine SARV violence in society without the availability of the technology). Especially, in PNG, the technology provider like Digicel and Bemobile or the NICTA lack innovation to help as part of their community service obligation, built in filtering system to capture FB post on SARV and link directly to local authorities, and built a robust SARV responsive system. Especially linking police in every Province and district as the first point of contact. In PNG, even the Police and the govt central agencies responsible for addressing SARV yet to build a network to address SARV and related violence using the FB platform or the technology is another platform, that will address other forms of violence too. Using technology to address community security issues is the way forward for small countries to adopt modern technologies and build conducive environment for citizens to live. Something for the studies to consider and offer some useful recommendations.

I was visiting Jakarta, when my daughter presented me with your travelogue, Indonesia etc. Whilst I was looking to read about the may new places, thoughts and experiences. I really got glued on your travelogue. Extremely vivid descriptions, experiences, which proved most useful during our travels and added your new perspectives concerning places, people and culture. A must read for anyone wanting to understand Indonesia.

Good points on why road maintenance is often harder to manage than it looks.

which law restrict mothers from buying and reselling of vegetables like greens( kumu)