Afghan Schoolgirls’ Education Is Over After Finishing Their Class 6

Afghan schoolgirls, who are just finishing their sixth grade, are facing a future where their education comes to a sudden halt. This is because of the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan.

Remember back in September 2021, a month after the US and NATO troops left Afghanistan? That’s when the Taliban announced that girls could not study beyond the sixth grade. 

They even extended this ban to universities in December 2022. Despite global criticism, the Taliban are sticking to these rules, which are causing major setbacks for these young girls.

Just last week, Roza Otunbayeva, a UN special envoy, expressed her concerns. She pointed out that with each passing day, a whole generation of Afghan girls is falling behind in education. It’s a serious situation.

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The Taliban have offered an alternative, though. They say girls of all ages can study in religious schools, known as madrassas. But there’s a lot of uncertainty about what they can learn there, especially about modern subjects.

Take the story of Bahara, for example. She’s holding onto her dreams by studying from textbooks at home. When she finished sixth grade, there was no celebration. She and her friends cried, realizing they couldn’t go to seventh grade.

In another part of Kabul, a 13-year-old girl named Setayesh Sahibzada is wondering about her future. She dreamed of becoming a teacher, but now she can’t go to school to make that dream a reality.

An analyst, Muhammad Saleem Paigir, has warned that not educating women and girls will have disastrous effects on Afghanistan. He says that without education, people can’t be truly free or prosperous.

In addition to education, the Taliban are also restricting women from public spaces, like parks, cafes, restaurants, and most jobs. This has essentially confined them to their homes.

Going back six months, to June 4, 2023, there was another distressing incident. Nearly 80 schoolgirls were poisoned in two attacks at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan.

This happened in Sar-e-Pul province. Thankfully, they were all taken to the hospital and are fine now. But we can assume that they and their families must have lost hope and their dreams of freedom.

Afghan girls and women are facing, especially in terms of education and their rights. It’s something that is drawing attention from all over the world. 

The international ‘Human Rights’ and ‘Women’s Rights’ bodies, including the United Nations organizations, can’t go against these. All they are doing is criticizing these Talibani acts.