School for no scandal: Taliban tough on girls

KABUL: Women attending private Afghan universities must wear an abaya robe and niqab covering most of their face, the Taliban has ordered, and classes must be segregated by sex or divided by a curtain.

In a lengthy document issued by the Taliban’s education authority, the new Islamist regime also states that female students must be taught only by other women, but if that was not possible then “old men” of good character could fill in.

The decree applies to private colleges and universities, which have mushroomed over the past 20 years.

When the Taliban was last in power, girls and women were mostly excluded from education by rules regarding same-sex classrooms and the insistence they had to be accompanied by a male relative whenever they left the house.

There was no order for women to wear the all-enveloping burqa in the new regulations, but the niqab effectively covers the face anyway, leaving just the eyes exposed.

In recent years, burqas and niqabs had largely vanished from the streets of Kabul, but are seen more frequently in smaller cities and towns.

The decree comes as private universities prepare to open again for the first time since the US-led withdrawal.

“Universities are required to recruit female teachers for female students based on their facilities,” the decree states, adding that men and women must always use separate entrances and exits.

If it is not possible to hire female teachers, then colleges “should try to hire old men teachers who have a good record of behaviour”.

While women now have to study separately, they must also end their lesson five minutes earlier than men to stop them from mingling outside.

They must then stay in waiting rooms until their male counterparts have left the building, according to the decree issued by the Taliban higher education ministry.

“Practically, it is a difficult plan; we don’t have enough female instructors or classes to segregate the girls,” said one university professor, who asked not to be named.

“But the fact that they are allowing girls to go to schools and universities at all is a big positive step,” he added.

Afghanistan’s new rulers have pledged to be more accommodating than during their first stint in power. They have promised a more “inclusive” regime that represents Afghanistan’s ethnic makeup – though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels.

Over the past 20 years, since the Taliban was last in power, university admission rates had risen dramatically, particularly among women.

Before the Taliban returned, women studied alongside men with male professors. But a spate of deadly attacks on education centres in recent years sparked panic.

The Taliban denied being behind the attacks, some of which were claimed by the local chapter of Islamic State.