Male students were reportedly denied entry at the Mirwais Nika School in Kandahar city for an hour this week because they were not wearing caps on their heads, as confirmed by local sources in Kandahar province.
One reliable source told Rukhshana Media that the students were left waiting outside the school in Kandahar city’s third district for about an hour. They were finally allowed in to take their mid-term exams, but only under the condition that they present themselves with a cap for school the following day.
This source also revealed that the school issued a directive demanding students to refrain from coming to school without a cap from the next day.
One student, Nawid*, described this policy as unrealistic because many students struggle to afford essential school supplies like notebooks and books already, let alone a cap.
In Kandahar markets, the specified hat, favored by the Taliban and commonly worn by madrassa students, costs between 100 and 150 Afghanis, Nawid shared. Despite the school’s mandate for all male students to wear the cap, Nawid said it clashes with the school uniform.
This strict dress code regulation may be being enforced as part of the emerging broader changes in the curriculum. Since the Taliban’s rise to power, the syllabus has been reformed to align more with their ideology. This includes the establishment of Jihadi and Deobandi schools, which have now been instituted in every province, encouraging students to attend.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
