The Taliban Government Backed Out From Opening High Schools For Girls

 

 

The Taliban administration has backed out on its decision of opening high schools for Afghan girls. As a cause of this decision, they have said that they haven’t decided what should be the uniform that they will were to the school.

After Taliban seized the power last August, schools were about to be open nationally. But the administrative officials ordered that the schools of the girls will remain closed as there is some confusion.

Where the parents, the students, expressed rage towards this decision. Some girls were in tears after listening to this news, the last minute’s disappointment has demined the all the excitement that they had after they heard about going back to their respective classrooms.

The decision came after a week when the education ministry announced that the school will be opened for all the students including girls from this Wednesday.

The notice said, ‘We inform all girls’ high schools and those schools that [have] female students above class six that they are off until the next order.’

According to the notice school would reopen after a pending decision about the uniforms of the girls in high school which will be as per the ‘Sharia law and Afghan tradition’.

This abrupt decision has raffled the adversity amongst the female students. A father whose daughter is in tears once she heard the news said, ‘If anything happens to my daughter, I will not forgive the Taliban,’ though he is unwilling to disclose his identity.

Back in 1990 when the Taliban was in rule, girls were banned to go to school, they have even deprived of education overall. And since they came back to the power the Afghans are dreading the history may repeat itself.

Only the primary school for girls and boys remained open throughout this period. And the secondary schools for girls were about to open today but they did not.

Taliban members still admit that female education is a controversial issue considered amongst their most hardline elements in private. And the last-minute reversal is showing their prior intention regarding woman’s education.

Mahouba Seraj an activist also the founder of the Afghan Women’s Network was perplexed by this decision all of a sudden. She said, ‘The excuse they gave was ‘you don’t have the proper hijab on’. There was no ruling; they just decided this morning that the hijab was not proper, for whatever reason.

She added, ‘school uniforms in Afghanistan are pretty covered up, always.’ Various international communities demanded the right to women’s education from the Taliban.

Ms. Seraj said, ‘What I want to hear from them and see from them is for them to stand fast and say ‘okay, this is what you decided to do? Well, this is what we have decided to do: no recognition, no money. Period!’

Shukria Barakzai, an Afghan politician, and journalist based in London said, ‘It’s very disappointing that girls, who were waiting for this day, made to return from school. It shows that Taliban are not reliable and cannot fulfill their promises.