Afghan Girls Find Religious Schools No Substitute for Modern Education

Kokcha News Agency – According to a report by CNN, the number of religious schools for girls in Afghanistan has risen since the Taliban banned education for girls above the sixth grade. However, many female students argue that these religious schools fail to address their educational needs and are not a viable substitute for modern education.

The Only Option for Many Girls:
For many Afghan girls above the sixth grade who wish to continue their education, religious schools have become the only available option. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where education for girls and women beyond the sixth grade has been banned since the Taliban regained power.

Increase in Religious Schools:
According to the Taliban’s Ministry of Education, approximately 23,000 religious schools have been established with the group’s support over the past three years. The principal of the Naji Bashir religious school in Kabul told CNN that the number of students has significantly increased since the ban on formal education for girls.

The school’s principal stated, “The curriculum at this religious school is designed to be very beneficial for the role of mothers in society, so they can raise good children.”

Voices of the Students:
A veiled teenage girl attending the Naji Bashir school in Kabul told CNN, “I wanted to become a doctor in the future, but when the Taliban came to Afghanistan, all the school doors were closed.”

Nargis (a pseudonym), a 23-year-old from Kabul, shared her story with CNN, saying, “I never wanted to go to a religious school. They don’t teach us what we need to learn.”

Before the Taliban’s takeover, Nargis was studying economics at a private university, working part-time, and teaching herself English at night. However, in August 2021, everything changed for her and millions of other girls.

She said wistfully, “If you had asked me four years ago what I wanted to do with my life, I had so many dreams, goals, and hopes. Back then, I wanted to become a great businesswoman, I wanted to import goods from other countries, I wanted to have a big school for girls. I wanted to go to Oxford University.”

Now, deprived of all her rights and pessimistic about the future, Nargis asked, “Why are we working so hard? For what job? For what future?”

UNESCO’s Warning:
Earlier, UNESCO, the UN’s cultural agency, stated that the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan have already affected approximately 1.5 million female students. UNESCO warned that if these restrictions continue, the number of girls deprived of education could exceed 4 million by 2030.