Although Afghanistan’s schools have resumed classes for the new academic year, hundreds of thousands of teenage females are still unable to go to school because Taliban officials forbid them from attending secondary school.
In a statement, Education Minister Habibullah Agha confirmed that schools up to grade six “will currently be open for girls,” effectively maintaining a ban on female students attending high school.
Only Islamic schools, or madrassas, are available to educate females of all ages. A ninth-grader in Kabul named Yalda told Al Jazeera that the madrassa had improved her understanding of Islam.
However, she claimed that “the madrassa cannot help me become a doctor, because that is done in school.”
Sara, a tenth student, admitted that she frequently daydreamed about schools reopening.
“Perhaps schools will reopen eventually, and my education will advance. I’ll never give up on optimism, she declared.
Since assuming control once more in August 2021 as a result of the withdrawal of foreign forces headed by the United States that had supported the previous governments, the Taliban authorities have imposed a strict interpretation of Islam.
A few hours after the education ministry reopened schools for both boys and girls, the prohibition on females pursuing secondary education went into effect in March of last year. No nation with a plurality of Muslims prohibits women from attending school.
Taliban leaders, who in December also forbade women from attending universities, have repeatedly asserted they will reopen secondary schools for females after “conditions” have been satisfied, including the redesign of the curriculum to reflect Islamic principles.
Taliban officials have cited a dearth of “safe environments” as justification for the ban on schools and restrictions on women’s freedom. However, some prominent Taliban figures asserted that Islam gave women the right to an education and a job.
Similar promises were made during the Taliban’s initial five-year rule between 1996 and 2001, but girls were still prohibited from attending secondary schools during that time.
The situation is “absolutely crushi
ng,” said Catherine Russell, executive head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The prohibition, according to her, “takes away their ability to participate in their community in a way that can ultimately lead to them having jobs, becoming doctors or teachers.”
That has a detrimental effect on the economy of the nation as a whole as well as several industries where women had been making a difference.
“Women are essential to the health system. Doctors and nurses must receive education in order to hold important positions in the nation, according to Russell. The practical ramifications are terrible, and it’s also heartbreaking for these dream-chasing females.
The only place in the globe where girls cannot attend secondary school is Afghanistan.
Additionally, women have been forcibly excluded from public life, removed from the majority of government jobs, or paid a small percentage of their previous salaries to remain at home.
They must cover up in public and are prohibited from visiting parks, festivals, clubs, and public baths.
According to the UN, the “most repressive country in the world” for women’s rights is Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.
On Tuesday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) pleaded with the authorities to end the ban on females attending school.
The mission posted on Twitter, “UNAMA reiterates its call to de facto authorities to reverse all discriminatory policies against women and girls.”
They are seriously harming Afghanistan in addition to impeding the aspirations of 50 percent of the people.
The prohibition reverses 20 years of advancement in which female literacy rates nearly doubled. Since 2001, there have been nearly 20 times as many girls enrolled in education, going from 5,000 to over 100,000 in 2021.
The prohibition is “causing incalculable harm to the Afghan youth and the future of the country,” according to Haroun Rahimi, assistant professor of law at the American University of Afghanistan.
“However, for the time being, the Taliban are funding the salaries of female schoolteachers. Amazingly, enrollment rates for both boys and girls in elementary schools have increased in some regions of the nation as security has gotten better,” he said.
Despite being “not a monolithic organization,” the Taliban, in the words of UNICEF’s Russell, “understood that the country will never prosper and do well if half of the population is not able to participate.”
They are basically saying that the girls cannot attend school for the time being, and Russell would argue to them that these girls are human beings with rights to healthcare and education that must be respected.
In negotiations over aid and recognition of the current Taliban administration, the international community has made the right to education for women a crucial requirement.
The Taliban have not yet received formal recognition from any nation as Afghanistan’s legitimate leaders.
