Six months after the Taliban took power, Afghanistan’s largest university reopened in Kabul on Saturday 26 February. But very few female students attended classes, separated from male students. According to Maryam, an English student, only seven classmates were present in the morning. “Before, we were 56 students, boys and girls”, together in progress, she told AFP. Many teachers were also missing, “maybe because some have left the country”, she added. In the rest of the territory, the situation was the same, with few returning students.
In the capital, Taliban guards denied journalists access to the huge campus and chased away those who lingered near the entrances. Asked aside, students expressed their mixed feelings about their return to class. “I am happy that the university has resumed (…), we want to continue our studies”, said an English student, who asked to be identified as Basira. However, she mentioned “some difficulties”especially because students were admonished by the Taliban for bringing their mobile phones to class. “They didn’t behave well with us. They were rude”she explained.
Public universities, such as colleges and high schools for girls, were closed as soon as the Taliban came to power, raising fears of a desire to deprive women of all education, as was the case during their first reign (1996 -2001). However, the new government quickly assured that it wanted to allow women to study at university, but under strict conditions, in particular clothing (wearing a veil) and the separation of men and women.
