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Religious girls' schools in Afghanistan: education that we need
The focus is on the expansion of religious schools for girls in Afghanistan, while access to general education is restricted among the Taliban. Insights into the educational struggle.
Religious girls' schools in Afghanistan: education that we need
Kabul, Afghanistan - "I want" - the girl pauses - "I wanted to become a doctor in the future. But when the Taliban came to Afghanistan, all doors of the schools were closed." In the Naji-e-Bashra Madrasa-a girls' school on the outskirts of Kabul-a teenager girl speaks nervously with a full face veil. Her classmate grabs her arm under the table, knowing that any criticism of the ruling Taliban government would be unclear.
The only educational option for girls
Although these religious institutions are not perfect, they represent the only way for most Afghan girls over 12 years of training. Afghanistan remains only country of the world that prohibits girls and women access to general education at secondary and higher level.
Repression of women's rights by the Taliban
This ban has been part of a comprehensive approach to the rights of women since the Taliban came to power in August 2021. The government determines how women have to dress where they are allowed to go and with whom they have to travel - for example, that they have to have a male guardian for travel.
International attention to the human rights situation
In July this year the International Criminal Court applied for Arrest warrants Against two leading Taliban members, the persecution of women and girls being cited as evidence of crimes against humanity. The Taliban rejected the court as an expression of "hostility and hatred against the pure religion of Islam".
Constant closures of educational institutions
The Taliban originally explained that the suspension of female education was temporary, and some leaders expressed the desire that normal schools reopen as soon as security problems are solved. But four years later, the fundamentalist wing of the Taliban seems to win the upper hand. Non-religious schools, universities and even training centers in the healthcare system remain closed for half of the population. According to an UNESCO report published in March, an UN agency, almost 1.5 million girls have been attended by a visit to the secondary school since 2021.
Assessments on national values and education
"We told the girls that they should wear reasonable hijabs, but they didn't. They wore clothes as if they were going to a wedding ceremony," said the reigning minister for higher education Nida Mohammad Nadim on state television in December 2022 and explained why the schools were closed. "Girls studied agriculture and engineering, but that doesn't fit Afghan culture. Girls should learn, but not in areas that violate Islam and Afghan honor."
Increase in religious educational institutions
In the meantime, the number of Madrasas, the boys and girls all over Afghanistan, has increased significantly. According to data from the Ministry of Education, 22,972 state -financed Madrasas have been established in the past three years.