MIHTARLAM, Afghanistan — Some public universities
opened in
Afghanistan on Wednesday for the first time since the Taliban seized
power in August, with a trickle of women attending classes that officials said
would be segregated by sex.
اضافة اعلان
Most secondary schools for girls and all public universities
were shuttered when the hardline Islamist group stormed back to power, sparking
fears women would again be barred from education — as happened during the
Taliban's first rule from 1996-2001.
"It's a moment of joy for us that our classes have
started," Zarlashta Haqmal, who studies law and political science at
Nangarhar University, told AFP.
"But we are still worried that the Taliban might stop
them."
One analyst said the reopening of universities was a
"critical marker" on the Taliban's road to international recognition.
Officials said universities in Laghman, Nangarhar, Kandahar,
Nimroz, Farah, and Helmand provinces opened Wednesday.
More were scheduled to resume operations elsewhere in the
country later this month.
An AFP correspondent saw one small group of women, wearing
the all-covering burqa, enter
Laghman University early Wednesday.
The men who attended — ferried to the campus in local taxis
and buses — were dressed in traditional tunics known as shalwar kameez.
Attendance was very light and Taliban fighters guarded the
entrance, a tripod-mounted machine gun resting on a boom gate.
Most students declined to offer their thoughts on returning
to class, with some saying they had been warned by authorities not to speak to
the press.
Journalists were prevented from entering the Laghman campus
and universities in other provinces.
Shortage of women lecturers
The Taliban have said they have no objection to education
for women, but want classes to be segregated and the curriculum based on
Islamic principles.
"We were told that the classes will be held according
to the Sharia law," said Malik Samadi, a 23-year-old mathematics student.
"I hope that they keep all the courses, because society
needs them."
"Education is the foundation of a country," said
civil engineering student Munsefullah at
Helmand University, expressing joy at
returning to his studies.
Still, while happy to be returning to lectures, one student
looked beyond her studies with pessimism.
"We are also sad because being political and law
students, our future is at risk as we won't be able to get jobs under this
regime," said Khadija Azizi from Nangarhar University.
"It's no more pleasant for us because we have lost hope
for our future."
Some were also sad as many of their fellow students had fled
when the Taliban seized power.
"The university's environment was not so pleasant as
there were very few students," said Baz Mohammad, a student at
Nimroz university.
Some institutions like Laghman University faced shortage of
women teachers. The university had only one female teacher for about 270 female
students.
University head Asmatullah Durrani said the board was now
looking to "recruit more women" teachers.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan chief
Deborah Lyons called for more "scholarship programs and support" to lecturers now
that the universities were opening.
'Critical marker'
The reopenings come a week after a Taliban delegation held
talks with Western officials in Norway, where they were pressed on improving
the rights of women to unlock billions of dollars in seized assets and frozen
foreign aid.
The halting of aid has triggered a humanitarian crisis in
Afghanistan, which has already been devastated by decades of war.
No country has yet recognized the new Taliban regime, which
has promised a softer version of the harsh rule that characterized their first
stint in power.
The regime has imposed several restrictions on women,
including banning them from many government jobs.
The Taliban say all girls' schools will reopen by the end of
March.
"The reopening of public universities ... would bode
well for the return of girls (to school) around the country," US Institute
of Peace analyst Andrew Watkins told AFP.
"This is the Taliban taking a step that would be a
critical marker in moving closer towards recognition."
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