The Taliban movement is forcing Afghan girls into a situation where after primary school they can only study in secret from the authorities.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban regime closes women’s access to universities. The ministry responsible for higher education said about it.
In the fall, the Taliban movement still allowed women to return to universities, as long as they were kept separate from male students. According to the regulations at the time, only women or elderly men were allowed to teach women.
However, the subject choices of new students were limited, and women were no longer allowed to study, for example, natural sciences, journalism or engineering. Girls who had time for the last grade before the Taliban came to power were still allowed to apply to university.
Now the Afghan government has decided that women will be banned from universities for the time being. The Taliban regime’s decision applies to both state and private universities. The reasons for the decision have not been given.
Girls’ schooling has been restricted in the past. Save the Children aid organization (you will switch to another service) estimated already in the spring that about 80 percent of middle school-age girls do not get to school. In practice, girls stop attending school in the sixth grade at the latest.
Several international media (you switch to another service) have told about secret schools where girls try to continue their schooling despite the prohibitions of the Taliban.
The extreme Islamist Taliban have limited the status of women in many ways. In November, women were banned from entering parks, amusement parks and gyms. Women are also prohibited from traveling without the company of a male close relative.
Sources: AFP, Reuters
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