The Taliban has banned girls and women from getting an education despite originally pledging (to the United States) not to do this when they retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after ousting an internationally-backed government that had ruled for two decades.
Buzzfeed News The Taliban breaking its promise to allow girls their right to education undermines months of international institutions expressing faith that the jihadist organization would not resume the brutality it implemented in the country in the 1990s.
It has been more than 400 days since the Taliban announced that girls beyond grade six weren’t allowed to go to school until the regime’s leaders make a longer-term decision, reviving memories of when the Taliban eroded rights and marginalized women from public life two decades ago.
The Taliban’s education ban and other policies regarding women has sparked strong condemnations by world leaders, including mainstream Islamic clerics. Even within the regime itself, there’s little unity around the ban.
After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, there was some cautious optimism among residents when the new regime vowed during peace negotiations with the United States in summer 2021 that it would respect women’s rights and not implement restrictions on education for girls.
In July, the Taliban announced a meeting of handpicked clerics to decide on the fate of the education ban. But only two clerics came in support of the girls’ education. Since then, the Taliban has not made any progress on whether they are willing to compromise.
A report by Amnesty International also says that the Taliban have prevented women across Afghanistan from working.
“Most women government employees have been told to stay home, with the exception of those working in certain sectors such as health and education,” the report states. “In the private sector, many women have been dismissed from high-level positions. The Taliban’s policy appears to be that they will allow only women who cannot be replaced by men to keep working.
Security threats and acts of terrorism have also been a major concern to the students in Afghanistan. In late October, a suicide bomber attacked a class packed with over 500 students in west Kabul, killing at least 54 school graduates — among them were 54 young girls. The attack marked the second deadly attack on education centers in the country since the Taliban had taken over power.
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