Afghan Universities Reopen With Strict Rules For Female Students

Public universities in Kandahar and Helmand provinces in Afghanistan have reopened after being closed for nearly nine months, with some female students joining classes.

Despite calls from education activists and students, universities and high schools across Afghanistan stayed shut after their usual summer break as the Taliban came to power. High schools have since reopened, but only for boys.

The media were refused permission by the Taliban authorities to cover the universities’ opening ceremonies, but students in Kandahar said they were not optimistic about the future under the restrictions imposed on women since the Taliban takeover.

Last week, the Taliban announced that classes will restart at public universities without any reference to women attending classes.

Even as Kandahar and Helmand opened this week, other universities in the southern provinces of Zabul and Uruzgan remained shut.

According to the former Afghan government’s education ministry, 10% of Kandahar University’s 12,000 students were women prior to the Taliban takeover.

Since the Taliban’s takeover last August, girls in secondary education and above have not been allowed to attend schools or universities. The Taliban stated that they were preparing special instructions for the education of girls.