PESHAWAR: The Taliban spokesman Sohail Shaheen has said that girls’ schools has been reopened across Afghanistan after the group controlled the country on 15 August.
Shaheen shared video of a girls’ school reopening on social media, showing a large number of girls wearing scarfs entering the school. Shaheen wrote in his Twitter post that schools had opened in “new Afghanistan”. He added that educational activities will not be restricted and he will also meet provincial governors to ensure protection to girls’ schools.
However, critics have accused the Taliban of depicting the “soft image” with the aim to get international recognition. The critics expressed the fear that after controlling the country, the Taliban will abolished the achievements of the past 20 years and will crushed down women rights to education and employment. But the Talban spokesman assured the international community that there will be no discrimination against women within the framework of Islamic shariah.
The Taliban had hinted at opening schools in the “new Afghanistan” yesterday. The Taliban leader said that educational institutions were open in some parts of the country, but that soon institutions will be opened across the country. Shaheen claimed, “We do not want to ban any kind of educational activities in the country and the security of educational institutions is our responsibility.” He informed that the provincial governor will be briefed on the steps to be taken for the protection of girls’ schools.
Earlier, Shohail Shaheen has announced that the “new Afghanistan” will allow women to work and to get education, but women have to strictly observe hijab. In an interview with a foreign news agency, Shaheen said that the new government would also allow women to participate in politics and that women will not need a male leader to leave her home for work. He said that media will be free to play its role in rebuilding Afghanistan.