PESHAWAR: The Taliban have opened some government universities for the first a very limited number of girls have returned for education.
According to AFP, this is the first time that a few Afghan universities have been opened since the Taliban came to power in August. Taliban officials have said that separate classes for boys and girls will be arranged in the universities.
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Earlier, it was feared that women might be deprived of education, as was the case during the first Taliban regime. It should be noted that government and non-government girls’ educational institutions and universities in Afghanistan were closed down when the Taliban regained power.
A few days ago, a Taliban delegation met with Western officials in Norway, where the Taliban were pressured to protect women’s rights. “It is a happy moment for us that women have been allowed to attend classes,” said Zarlashta Haqmal, a student at Nangarhar University told the AFP. “But we still fear that the Taliban may stop them from getting education any time.”
The Taliban officials have said that more universities will reopen later this month. Separate classes have been arranged for women and in some universities, male and female students have been divided into two shifts of morning and evening. However, the media reported that only six women students entered Laghman University on the first day.
The Taliban have said they have no objection to women’s education but want the classes to be separate and the curriculum to be in accordance with Islamic law.
It should be noted that the Taliban authorities have imposed various restrictions on women and women have also been barred from government jobs. The Taliban have announced that all girls’ schools will be opened by the end of March.
The Taliban’s Minister of Education Noorullah Munir said that girls’ schools will be reopened ‘soon’ and there was high hope that female students will return to schools in the spring, with the start of the new academic year.