The decision is a blow to girls in Afghanistan, says correspondent Aletta André. “At some schools where I spoke to teachers and activists, girls showed up, but they weren’t allowed to enter the school. And that’s a really big blow, there was crying.”
The way in which access for girls was withdrawn by the Taliban also led to a lot of uncertainty. “On Monday, the Ministry of Education officially announced, on paper, that the schools for boys and girls would open, so they were really ready for this.”
But last night there were suddenly reports that this had been withdrawn again for high school girls. “Not everyone was aware of this when the schools started, so it is again vague and unclear what will or will not be allowed in the near future.”
Closed until further notice
There are also regional differences, says André. “In some regions the school holidays had already ended and girls were allowed to go to school from local leaders. Conversely, other regions have already said that they will not admit girls.”
This indicates that the decisions of the ministry are not fully followed. “So there seems to be room to exercise your power locally. It is also not a law, but a directive.”
That does not alter the fact that the Ministry of Education is now officially has announced that schools must remain closed to girls “until further notice” until education for girls, according to Taliban leaders, is in line with Sharia law and Afghan culture.
Fewer women also go to universities
“The same reason why they also had to stay at home in September, while boys could go back to school,” says André. It is not clear why this has not yet been arranged. “Most secondary schools are already segregated and girls are fully willing to change their clothes if they are allowed to go to school. There are also female teachers. Maybe not enough for quality education for girls across the country, but no reason to do it at all. abolish.”
The fact that the promise that girls could go to school has now been withdrawn at the last minute is reminiscent of the Taliban regime of the 1990s, André says. “Even then, vague promises were made time and again that girls would be allowed to go back to school as soon as it was safe and in line with Sharia law. But that never happened.”
The fact that there have been private universities since last year and public universities since last month where women can study is not worth much, says André. With today’s decision, women without secondary education will gradually be denied access to universities.”
Aid for women’s rights is at a standstill
There were already restrictions, because women are now excluded from all kinds of professions. “Their freedom of movement is also increasingly restricted. First it was said that women are not allowed to travel long distances without a male companion. And recently it was added that they are not allowed to leave the country without a male companion. So the dream of some girls to study abroad , becomes much more difficult.”
Education for girls has always been an important requirement of international aid to Afghanistan, André says. Aid organizations do not want to abandon Afghans who really need emergency food and medical assistance. But it is a lot more difficult for them to convince people to donate money. now largely silent, because it is not clear to donors to what extent this is possible.”
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