Fatima and Khudija arrived at their school in central Kabul early Wednesday, eager to see their exam results from the previous year, but after just a few minutes inside their old classrooms the deputy principal reluctantly ordered them off the premises immediately.
While thousands of schools reopened for the first time since the Taliban takeover in August, a last minute ruling from the group banned classes for girls beyond the sixth grade, according to a statement from the Ministry of Education.
At that moment all we felt was sadness,” said Fatima, 15, who like Khudija, 19, spoke on condition that only her first name be used for fear of reprisals.
“We suffered for a long time to get an education and faced many difficulties. So when we finally returned, and it was taken away… it was overwhelming, all we could do was cry.”
The future of girls’ education and women’s rights under the Taliban has been central to discussions with the international community where Taliban officials have pressed for international recognition, the easing of financial sanctions and increased aid money. But female students and teachers say they fear Wednesday’s order signals the group is unwilling to provide access to education for all Afghans regardless of gender.
He said the Taliban’s acting cabinet needs to consider “some cultural and religious obligations” first. The Ministry of Education statement said it hasn’t designed a school uniform for female students that is “in accordance with sharia [Islamic] law, Afghan culture and customs.”
Mawlawi Noorul Haq, a senior Taliban official, who also spoke at the ceremony pushed back against claims the Taliban are “anti-education.”
“In reality, the basis of the Taliban is knowledge. We fought against ignorance,” he said
The Taliban closed all schools after taking control of the country over seven months ago, stating the group needed time to develop national education policies. But pledged all Afghan children — boys and girls – would be allowed to return to class this week, according to Rayan, the Education Ministry spokesman.
But school officials, like Muhammad Ibrahim, the principal at Ayesha Durkhanai girls school in Kabul, were not informed of the reversal until Tuesday night when he received a WhatsApp message in a group chat for his education district.
“How do you think I felt,” he said. He and his colleagues had already prepared curriculums and schedules assuming all their students would return. It was “heartbreaking,“ to tell the older girls they were not allowed through the school yard gates and had to go home. ”This is something unprecedented.
Source: Reuters
In other news – Makhadzi left in tears in Botswana
Makhadzi was left in tears after she was given a warm welcome by a Botswana government minister and the royals of the Batlokwa tribe who accepted and gave Makhadzi their blessings on Wednesday morning.
The star was welcomed ahead of her one-woman show in Tlokweng. Learn more
