Taliban will not exclude girls from schools and universities, government official says

The Afghan government has said it will announce good news soon about older girls being allowed to go back to school, but has asked the international community to help fund the process as most foreign aid has been stopped.

Ensuring the rights of women and girls has been one of the most sensitive issues facing the Taliban since it came to power in August, with international bodies demanding evidence that these rights were being respected before there could be any discussion of formal recognition of the new government. .

In September, the Taliban was condemned by the international community for ensuring the boys returned to the classroom, but told the older girls to stay at home until conditions allowed them to return.

“Inshallah, we will have a good announcement for the whole country, the whole nation,” Waheedullah Hashimi, director of external programs and aid at the Ministry of Education, said in an interview with Reuters.

In some northern areas, girls have already resumed their studies, but others are forced to study in secret. Great skepticism remains in the international community regarding the Taliban’s ability to loosen restrictions. Countries with very antagonistic positions towards the Taliban, such as the United States and Russia, demand evidence from the group on the fulfillment of promises.

“Our Ulema (religious scholars) are working on this and soon, inshallah, we will announce (the girls’ return to school) to the world,” Hashimi said.

The previous Taliban government, between 1996 and 2001, banned girls’ education beyond primary school and women were virtually excluded from the world of paid work.

Hashimi said the movement is committed to educating girls and is working on ways to get them back to school. He said that no teachers were fired and that this was “a positive message to the world”. The leader also assured that the Taliban “does not work with the idea of ​​excluding them from our schools and universities”.

However, Hashimi also said that education, like other areas of government, was hit hard by the abrupt withdrawal of foreign support after the collapse of the Western-backed government in August, and he called for aid to be restored.

“If they really want to see girls in schools, they should help us now,” Hashimi said.

Although education spending increased slowly under the previous government, a UNESCO report said that foreign aid accounted for nearly half of the education budget in 2020.

In addition to the issue of educating girls, Hashimi said the ministry is working on a new curriculum to align schools with the principles of Islam and local culture, but also with a view to respecting international standards.

“The changes will be in line with international standards for physics, chemistry and biology, for all science subjects,” said Hashimi, adding that no changes have yet been made to the curriculum.

He said ministry officials have been working closely with international agencies, which the official said have responded positively to documents presented by the Taliban.

However, he warned that the system would be set up in a way that would appeal to Taliban leaders and academics, and not based on international pressure.

“We want to educate, and we will educate, our women and men, boys and girls,” said Hashimi.