Curtains separate male and female students as Afghan universities reopen under Taliban rule
Students stayed away from colleges as they grappled with the restrictive rules laid down by the Taliban
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Some universities in Afghanistan's largest cites have resumed classes after the Taliban stormed to power in the country. And in some cases, females have been separated from their male peers by curtains or boards down the middle of the room. AFP
The female students have been segregated from the males with the use of curtains or boards that divide the class. Teachers and students at universities in Afghanistan's largest cities -- Kabul, Kandahar and Herat -- said that female students were being segregated in class, taught separately or restricted to certain parts of the campus. AFP
"Putting up curtains is not acceptable," Anjila, a 21-year-old student at Kabul University who returned to find her classroom partitioned, was quoted as saying. Image Courtesy: @KhudroM/Twitter
The Taliban said last week that schooling should resume but that males and females should be separated. When asked to comment on the curtain divider, a senior Taliban official said that it was "completely acceptable", and that Afghanistan had "limited resources and manpower, so, for now, it is best to have the same teacher teaching both sides of a class". AFP
Women fear that with the Taliban's return to power they will lose the rights they fought for in the last two decades. The last time the Taliban was in power, from 1996 to 2001, girls were not allowed to attend school. The Taliban also forbade women from attending university or going to work. However, this time it has permitted women to be educated, though it said that they would have be segregated. AFP