Taliban claim 75% of girl students back in Afghanistan schools

The Taliban-ruled government in Afghanistan has said that 75 per cent of girl students have resumed their classes in schools across the country.

Speaking at the Centre for Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Friday, the Taliban’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made the remarks while replying to a question about the situation of girls’ education in Afghanistan, according to a report by Dawn.

After taking control of the war-ravaged country in August this year, the Taliban closed schools for both boys and girls. From September 18, the Taliban allowed boys from classes 6-12 to and male teachers to attend schools.

Some schools reopened for girls up to class 6 and women were also allowed to visit universities. But high schools are shut for girls and the Islamic emirate claimed in September that they will be allowed to resume classes for all girls at the earliest.

The Taliban has received sharp criticism from the global community for restricting education for girls.

On Friday, foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also said that it was the global community’s duplicity to emphasise women’s education rather than focus on the salary of teachers as salary disbursement becoming difficult due to Afghanistan’s assets frozen by the West, the Dawn report said.

Muttaqi added as many as 500,000 civil servants in Afghanistan were being paid and no one was fired because of differences in political views. No woman has been sacked, the acting foreign minister also claimed, according to the report.

However, several media reports have suggested that women are still not being allowed to go to work and several of them have protested to demand the rights to employment and education.

On the other hand, a majority of girl students in Afghanistan who depend on the public education system, also remain at home.

“Amendments will be made based on our new laws. Islamic scholars will make the decisions,” Abdul Hakeim, the chief of staff for the minister of education, said in November.

“We want an Islamic perspective, and this means separate classes and transport. Once this is sorted out, girls can continue education for a lifetime,” Hakeim added.