Taliban have again closed language and tuition centers in Kabul to girls over the age of 14 after a brief period of the centers being permitted to have older female students.
Tuition centers in Kabul received an announcement from the Kabul Educational Centers Union with the new rule. “All female students over 14 years of age are informed that education centers are closed to them until further notice, according to the strict guidance of the Kabul Education Directorate,” the announcement said.
It says that the order was only for female students over 14 years old and does not include female teachers or employees. The announcement means that girls below grade six can continue their studies at separate times.
Reliable sources say that language education centers are being monitored by the Taliban. “All educational centers are under surveillance, and if the girls are seen in the course, they close the center,” according to a director of one of the Kabul education centers, who wished to remain anonymous.
The director said Taliban forces have inspected education centers of Kabul city’s third district and subsequently closed several of them for allegedly having female students above the cutoff age. These centers include Muslim English Institute, Kaaj Educational Center, Toffle House, and English School.
The director’s voice shook as he explained that the Taliban forces are expected to soon inspect language education centers in west Kabul, which could face a similar fate of closures.
In a voice message recording heard by Rukhshana Media, the director encourages the students not to lose heart and reassures them that they will continue their studies online.
Fatima Mohammadi, a student at one of the education centrers, says that the Taliban issued the new order to the Kabul Educational Centers Union on May 27, but that no clear or logical reason was provided for the decision. “On Saturday, everything was normal, then a notice was shared in a WhatsApp group of our education center where the director said that the girls should no longer come to class until further notice.”
Fatima said that the ongoing situation for girls in such conditions is extremely difficult for them, and that the smallest hopes for female students are being eliminated with women being imprisoned within the four walls of their homes.
All education centers and institutions had previously been closed to female students above grade six across Afghanistan by the order of the Taliban. However, the courses had briefly reopened after several meetings between the Ministry of Education of the Taliban and the Kabul Education Centers Union keeping the gender segregation and adhering to the clothing order.
The Purple Saturdays protest movement condemned the Taliban’s latest decision in a statement, saying the de facto rulers of Afghanistan continue to be completely shameless in their anti-women agenda.
It accused the Taliban of promoting extremist ideology through education as the growth and development of religious schools and Deobandi centers continues.
The movement warned in its statement that Afghanistan is becoming a safe haven for radical terrorist groups. It has called on the citizens of the country not to remain silent against the Taliban misogyny and to defend human and Islamic rights and their children’s freedoms.
