Veiled students hold Taliban flags as they listen a speaker before a pro-Taliban rally at the Shaheed Rabbani Education University in Kabul. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)
The last time the Taliban came into power over 20 years ago, women were banned from attending school. As the recent Taliban takeover has left many women questioning their future this time around, they have expressed hope to see a different result.
On Sunday, steps were taken in the right direction as the Taliban’s acting higher education minister granted female students rights to continue their higher education.
Taliban Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani stated, “any female students who continues their studies with Islamic hijab, the Islamic Emirate has no problem with them.”
Haqqani added women could continue to study at universities, but the classrooms would be female only including teachers. Hijabs would also be required to be worn.
“Thanks to God, we have a high number of women teachers,” Haqqani expressed. “We will not face any problems in this. All efforts will be made to find and provide women teachers for female students.”
Afghan women take part in a protest march for their rights under the Taliban rule in the downtown area of Kabul. (Photo by HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images)
Not only would men and women have separate classes, but they also must be taught at separate places or have separate times for attending class. However, the Taliban has insisted they have changed their attitudes towards women, despite using violence in recent days against female protestors demanding equal right.
“The Islamic Emirate is committed to having a positive vision towards anything which is not in conflict with Islam and national values, in any walk of life,” Haqqani explained. “In the field of education, anything which is not in conflict with Islam and the national values, the Islamic Emirate will not be against it.”
Even as the Taliban has allowed women the right to an education, many were still concerned their future opportunities could potentially be restricted under the terror group’s rule.
Source: One America News Network
