Published: Just now
Afghan girls will be allowed to sit an exam to get their matriculation diploma, despite being banned from classrooms since the Taliban took power last August.
The decision applies in 31 of the country’s 34 provinces, according to documents from the Taliban regime’s Ministry of Education.
The exam in 14 different subjects will take place for three hours on Wednesday, announced Ehsanullah Kitab who heads the department. Girls in Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz, whose school year does not match the rest of the country, have to wait.
But most teenage girls in Afghanistan have not set foot in a school since the Taliban took power. Only a few schools for girls have been able to stay open.
– This is ridiculous. How can we graduate after the Taliban kept schools closed for a year and a half? asks 18-year-old Najela in Kabul.
Most girls also lack school books, points out a principal of a high school in Kabul, anonymously.
– Taking a test is pointless, she says.
After taking power, the Taliban have banned girls from education from middle school up to high school. They have forced women to wear full-coverage clothing and banned them from visiting parks, gyms and theme parks. Many have been forced to stop gainful employment.
However, universities are still open to women and the Taliban have hinted that those who pass matriculation can apply for higher studies.