Female school and university students from across the country protested until the last days of 1402 (solar year) for the reopening of schools and universities and for access to a brighter future in the country; however, no positive result was achieved.
Various institutions and countries also emphasized the resumption of girls’ education in Afghanistan in the year 1402.
Mariam, one of the students who criticized the closure of schools in the month of Hamal of the year 1402 (first month of the solar calendar), raised the question: “If a girl cannot study and become a doctor, to whom should a sick woman turn?” She said, “Why are schools closed to girls? When there is no female doctor, should a sick woman go to a male doctor?”
The closure of educational institutions’ doors to girls in this year has always faced reactions from countries and global institutions.
Markus Potzel, the UN deputy special representative for Afghanistan, said: “I think that the de facto authorities in Afghanistan should let girls go to school beyond grade six. They should let girls go to university. They should let women work for international NGOs, national NGOs, and for UN organizations. And they should let women participate in social life. If this happens, I can imagine that Afghanistan would be integrated into the international community again, and international donors would also rethink and probably reinforce engagement with Afghanistan.”
Thomas West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, also spoke about the restrictions imposed on women in Afghanistan: “As we engage with the Taliban, we need to keep women and girls’ issues front and center when we talk about other things — it is their families that are bearing the brunt of that dislocation.”
Some officials of the Islamic Emirate also declared their support for girls’ education in the country.
Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Political Deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “I say once again that the door to knowledge should not be closed and should not discriminate. We need everything, and we need men and women in every field.”
On the 29th of the month of Saratan 1402 (solar calendar), the Kankor exam for the year 1401 was held without the presence of girls among 24,000 candidates in eleven provinces, raising further concerns among female students.
Hadia Mohammadi, a school graduate at that time, said: “We also want to participate in the exam and build our future. Please let girls study too.”
On the 24th of the month of Sunbula (solar calendar), a global foundation under the name “Education Above All” said that Afghanistan is on the list of countries in the worst educational situation.
Maleiha Malik, Executive Director of Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC), said: “There are some persistent countries that come in that list —Afghanistan was on that list persistently. And in Afghanistan attacks on education all sides not only state actors, but also armed non state actors were prevalent. And I think what happened particularly with the media is that the armed non-state actors became more prominent, and it was hard sometimes to see that state parties were also causing massive destruction. The new barriers to education in Afghanistan are still challenging.”
The acting Minister of Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadim, during a trip to Tatarstan, Russia, in the month of Jauza of 1402 (solar calendar), sought support for the education sector in Afghanistan and asked neighboring countries to send staff to Afghanistan.
Nadim added in that meeting: “We expect friendly countries to support higher education in Afghanistan by sending professional cadres there or, in their own countries, by providing scholarships to train professional cadres.”
The Acting Minister of Education, Habibullah Agha, in the month of Mizan (solar calendar), promised to provide better educational opportunities for students in the country.
Habibullah Agha, said: “The Ministry of Education is dedicated to providing its educational services in the areas of religious and modern education in all parts of Afghanistan in a balanced manner.”
Although girl students were not allowed to go to school this year, the Ministry of Education announced in the month of Dalw (solar calendar) that more than 35,000 schools and madrasas are active across the country, and thousands are engaged in education.
Mansour Ahmad Hamza, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, added: “The leadership of the Ministry of Education has strived to provide services completely to places that were deprived of education and had their rights taken away, and the Ministry of Education is 100% committed to providing balanced educational services to remote areas.”
Mansour Ahmad Hamza, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said: “The leadership of the ministry has always tried to concentrate on forgotten areas of Afghanistan where people were deprived of their rights. We are committed to provide balanced educational services to the deprived areas.”
The academic year in the cold provinces of the country started on the first day of the month of Hoot (solar calendar) without the presence of girls.
Nevertheless, there is still no hopeful news about the reopening of schools to girls beyond grade six and the reopening of universities to female students.
