AFGHANISTAN: Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan last year in August, it has been over 300 days since educational institutions for girls were shut down for good.
However, on Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesperson, Qahar Balkhi clarified in an interview with CGTN, “This suspension is a temporary suspension and it is not a permanent ban, it has never been called a ban.”
As per Tolo news, the Taliban supporter also mentioned that the school shutdown was primarily due to Afghan conservatism against women and their education. ANI has reported that the leader further continued that they are searching for a proper solution.
Balkhi elucidated on the topic further and pressed on that the main reason behind the closure was extremely rigid views towards women, their rights and capabilities. Afghan society is the sole critique of women’s education and the current government is formulating several plans to solve this issue, Balkhi also added.
An Afghan student, Fariah, questioned the regime and asked, “When women are not allowed to see the namhram, then who should treat a woman when she’s sick? Another student was equally curious. It is very disappointing and we ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen our schools.”
A university lecturer Waheeda said that education and community engagement are the only two ways that Afghan society can progress, raising severe doubts about the future of women’s education in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
The Taliban continue to confront harsh backlash and global criticism over their strict resistance to acknowledging women’s rights in society.
The United Nations Assistance Mission Afghanistan (UNAMA) also noted that before Taliban militant rule, Afghan women occupied a good proportion of the public sphere, participating in multi-faceted social roles as educators, students, lawyers and the general workforce.
After the Taliban takeover, girls were refrained from finishing secondary schools, forbidding them from attaining nearly 12 years of basic education.
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