KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Bahara Rustam, 13, took her final class at Bibi Razia Faculty in Kabul on Dec. 11 understanding it was the tip of her training. Underneath Taliban rule, she is unlikely to step foot in a classroom once more.
In September 2021, a month after U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan following twenty years of conflict, the Taliban introduced that women had been barred from finding out past sixth grade.
They prolonged this training ban to universities in December 2022. The Taliban have defied world condemnation and warnings that the restrictions will make it virtually unattainable for them to achieve recognition because the nation’s authentic rulers.
Final week, U.N. particular envoy Roza Otunbayeva expressed concern {that a} era of Afghan women is falling behind with every day that passes.
Final week, an official within the Training Ministry mentioned Afghan women of all ages are allowed to check in non secular faculties referred to as madrassas, which have historically been boys-only. However Otunbayeva mentioned it was unclear if there was a standardized curriculum that allowed trendy topics.
Bahara is holding onto her training and pores over textbooks at dwelling. “Graduating (from sixth grade) means we’re going to seventh grade,” she mentioned. “However all of our classmates cried and we had been very disenchanted.”
There was no commencement ceremony for the ladies at Bibi Razia Faculty.
In one other a part of Kabul, 13-year previous Setayesh Sahibzada wonders what the longer term holds for her. She is gloomy she will be able to’t go to highschool anymore to realize her goals.
“I can’t stand alone two toes,” she mentioned. “I needed to be a instructor. However now I can’t examine, I can’t go to highschool.”
Analyst Muhammad Saleem Paigir warned that excluding ladies and women from training shall be disastrous for Afghanistan. “We perceive that illiterate individuals can by no means be free and affluent,” he mentioned.
The Taliban have barred ladies from many public areas and most jobs, all however confining ladies to their properties.