Books sale down significantly in Badghis: Bookstore owners

QALA-I-NAW (Pajhwok): Books sale has declined significantly in northwestern Badghis province recently, according to bookstores owners on Thursday.

The books sale market was in terrible situation in the past as well while expert believed not reading books may have dire consequences for the society and it could push the society towards backwardness.

Aminullah, a bookseller of Qala-i-Naw city said, he has been associated with the bookselling business from 18 years, but has never experienced such decreased book sales in the past.

He said, in the past he could sod out up to 40,000 afs worth of books daily while currently the daily sale of books dropped to 2,000 afs. With the closure of universities and schools bookstores suffered and their sale dropped to zero.

Hayatullah Zahid, another bookseller has also talked about decreased book sales, he said when the universities, schools and other educational centers were closed for educations, the people do not need to purchase books on the other side the motive for reading books was lost.

However, Abdulwahid Parsa, a university professor, says that the non-use of books by the people of a society will have unfortunate, destructive and backward consequences.

The lack of attention of families to their children, existence of social media, the lack of propagation of book reading culture and some other reason will drag the society backwards, it will propagate the illiteracy and the book reading culture will die, Parsa added.

“A society is vulnerable when the books are taken out of that it, so the youth become more vulnerable while everyone and every party can use them easily”, Parsa said.

Badghis Information and Culture Department Director Abdul Awal Habibi admitted the book reading culture is eradicating in Badghis but added, the existence of social media, high price of books, online libraries in some offices and other internet sites have caused the decline in the book reading culture.

He said multiple programs had been launched about promoting the book reading culture in the past and has a plan to launch such programs in the future as well, Habibi added.

This is comes that the culture of book reading in the country had not yet been institutionalized and most of the young people do not intend to read books.

Aw/nh