Deserted Afghan Universities Open As Taliban Impose New Rules

Universities in Kabul were almost empty on the first day of the Afghan school year on Monday, as professors and students wrestled with the Taliban’s restrictive new rules for the classroom.

The Taliban have promised a softer reign than during their first stint in power from 1996-2001, when women’s freedoms in Afghanistan were sharply curtailed and they were banned from higher education.

This time the hardline Islamist group have said women will be allowed to go to private universities under the new regime, but they face tough restrictions on their clothing and movement.

The militant group’s acting higher education minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani said,

Haqqani added mixed-gender classes would be banned, however. He made the comments Sunday at a loya jirga — a council gathering of tribal and faction leaders in Afghanistan.

“The… people of Afghanistan will continue their higher education in the light of Sharia law in safety without being in a mixed male and female environment,” he said to AFP.

He added that the Taliban are looking to “create a reasonable and Islamic curriculum that is in line with our Islamic, national and historical values and, on the other hand, be able to compete with other countries.”