School starts again in Afghanistan without older girls. Racist crimes in France have increased sharply in 2023

The new school year started in Afghanistan on Wednesday, but classes for older girls remained closed for the third year in a row.

Under the ruling Islamic Taliban, education for girls from seventh grade is still banned. According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), one million girls in the country are affected by the school ban.

During an official ceremony to mark the start of education, Taliban Education Minister Habibullah Agha announced that he wanted to increase the quality of education in the country. He did not discuss the possibility of opening schools for girls.

In the past, the Taliban had said they would suspend education for older girls only until unspecified conditions were created. However, nothing has been done in this direction so far. Recently, however, some senior Taliban members have publicly spoken out in favor of women’s education. In some parts of the country, women and girls over the age of twelve attend religious schools, as well as midwifery and nursing schools.

15-year-old Furusan no longer believes that public schools will be open to older girls as long as the Taliban are in power. “I wanted to study law and defend women’s rights in my country”, she told the German news agency. She is currently taking online courses, but hopes to resume formal state training soon. Otherwise, she fears she will have to get married, which would mean the end of her dreams.

When they took power again in August 2021, amid the chaotic withdrawal of international troops from the country, the Islamist Taliban pledged a more moderate course. However, their government is extremely authoritarian. Internationally, they are mainly criticized for their enormous restrictions on women’s rights. In addition to high schools, women are no longer allowed to attend universities. UNICEF has now warned of a serious shortage of qualified women in various fields such as healthcare and education. (rbu/sda/dpa)