The beginning of the school year in Afghanistan and the sad stories of girls left out of school

24 Mar 2024
4 Minutes
The beginning of the school year in Afghanistan and the sad stories of girls left out of school

This year is the third year that the school bell has not been played for Afghan girls, and this year millions of girls above the sixth grade have no right to go to school because of the Taliban.

Meanwhile, a number of girls who survived education in Afghanistan say that they have no hope for the future and that the Taliban group is an enemy of science and knowledge.

Hamidah Kazemi (pseudonym), one of the graduates of the sixth grade, said in a conversation with the reporter of Peace Window media that she graduated from the sixth grade last year and was preparing for the seventh grade as well, and this year she hoped to enter school after the school bells in the country and start her studies. to continue But after the school bell rang, there was no talk of reopening schools for girls above sixth grade.

Mrs. Kazemi said: “I finished the sixth grade last year and I have also prepared for the new year. I hope to be able to attend my class again and continue my studies; But the Taliban group did not allow us to study again after ringing the school bell.”

He asked the Taliban group to open the school gates to all girls and let the girls participate in the development of the country.

Fatemeh Alizadeh (pseudonym) is in the 11th grade of the school and says that she has been living at home for almost three years and has no hope for the future. They are waiting for the gates of schools and universities to reopen.

He added with a sad face: “If the problem is the hijab, we are ready to observe the Islamic hijab in schools and universities, and it is enough that he gives us permission to study.”

But; The Taliban’s Ministry of Education rang the school bell on Wednesday (1 Hamal) during a press conference in Kabul, and this bell rang only for boys.

In this ceremony, the officials of the Taliban group did not say anything about the reopening of schools for girls students above the sixth grade.

Habibullah Agha, the Acting Minister of Education of the Taliban, said at the opening ceremony of the 1403 academic year in Kabul that the ministry under his administration is trying to increase the “quality of education in religious and modern sciences”.

This member of the Taliban group did not say anything about the reopening of schools for girls above the sixth grade; But he asked the girls of the school to observe the Islamic hijab and arrange their clothes according to the guidelines of this group.

Abdulsalam Hanafi, the administrative deputy of the Taliban group’s prime minister’s office, said at the school bell ringing ceremony that this group has no opposition to modern science and Afghanistan should be ahead of the world in modern science.

Meanwhile, at the same time as the beginning of the new academic year in Afghanistan and the continued exclusion of female students above the sixth grade from education, a number of international organizations and institutions are asking the Taliban group to remove the restrictions on education and allow girls to study.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) asked the Taliban group to end these bans in connection with the non-opening of girls’ schools above the sixth grade for the third year in a row.

UNAMA said: “We call on the actual authorities to end this unjustified and harmful ban.”

In response to the continued non-opening of girls’ schools above the sixth grade in Afghanistan, Amnesty International has said that the Taliban should stop using “cynical excuses” to advance their “discriminatory” program.

This international organization said in a newsletter that the academic year in Afghanistan begins while girls above the sixth grade are still prohibited from studying.

According to this international organization, this decision is “unjustifiable and a violation of basic human rights to education.”

Amnesty International has emphasized that the Taliban should allow girls of any age to go to school.

In a message on the occasion of the academic year in Afghanistan, the Deputy Spokesperson of the US Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the education of girls and women in Afghanistan is “vital” for the international recognition of the Taliban.

The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also asked the Taliban to open the school gates for girls.

The ministry wrote in a newsletter: “The new school year has started in Afghanistan, but not for seventh grade girls.”

According to this ministry, the Taliban group is stealing the future of a generation of girls and the progress of Afghanistan.

The German Foreign Ministry has noted: “We ask the Taliban to open the gates of schools and universities to girls and women.”

In response to the continued non-opening of girls’ schools above the sixth grade in Afghanistan, the Dutch Embassy in Afghanistan has said that the ban on girls and women’s education by the Taliban has dire consequences for them.

In this regard, the human rights organization known as “Faridam No” called the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education “shameful” and emphasized that the Taliban should reverse this policy and all rulings against women.

However, schools for girls above the sixth grade were closed from the 24th of Asad in 1400, after the domination of the Taliban group in Afghanistan, and universities were also closed for girls at the end of the month of Arc in 1401, and this caused the strong reactions of the international community and institutions. included international

But; In this regard, the Taliban always said that closing the gates of schools and universities to girls is temporary and will be reopened soon. But three years have passed since these talks and there is still no word about the reopening of schools and universities in Afghanistan.