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Taliban allowing girls’ schools in rural Afghanistan

Published

6 years ago

May 5, 2020

Last Updated on: May 6, 2020

Many of the Taliban fighters’ own sisters and daughters are attending schools lately – a surprising shift in policy.

Following is a developed excerpt from an analytical report published by Foreign Policy, on May 04, 2020.

People in Badikhel a remote area of Khost province and largely dominated by the Taliban has said the Taliban allowed girls to attend schools. According to the villagers, the Taliban has assured them that they have no issues with the girls’ school.

A school owner told Foreign Policy, “Some of my students are daughters, sisters, or nieces of Taliban fighters. Mostly, all of these men are not living in our village. They are busy fighting and hiding. But they encouraged their relatives to visit my school and get educated.”

“My brother is a Taliban fighter. But he does not have any problems with the school. He wants me to seek wisdom and education,” said Latifa Khostai, one of the students.

In retrospect, when the Taliban came to power in the 1990s, they imposed a very extremist patriarchal rule and banned female education all over the country. Additionally, women were not allowed to work and could not leave their homes without a close male relative.

Following the fall of the Taliban regime, a déjà vu took place when the US and its allies entered Afghanistan and proclaimed women’s rights, and especially girls’ education, as one of their prime goals.

Now that the US signed an agreement with the Taliban in February, it has become clear that, sooner or later, the group would somehow return to power in some form, at the very least in some sort of power-sharing arrangement with the Afghan government.

When it comes to female education, some observers and activists believe that the Taliban would ban any kind of education for girls and young women again.

Both the Afghan government and the American negotiators made clear that such a regression would not take place, while the Taliban leadership preferred to stay vague and underlined the importance of Islamic norms in the context of women’s work and girls’ education.

“We are not against female education or work. But we have Islamic norms. This is still not the West,” Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the head of the Taliban office in Qatar, previously said in an interview.

The case of the girls’ school in Badikhel, however, shows that things are much more complex – only time, with its course, can resolve the equation.

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International Sports

Mbappe and Messi remain level as Golden Boot race heads into World Cup semi-finals

Norway’s Erling Haaland sits third with seven goals after his country’s quarter-final exit to England, ending his chances of challenging for the award.

Published

19 minutes ago

July 12, 2026

Ariana News

France striker Kylian Mbappe and Argentina captain Lionel Messi remain locked at the top of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot standings with eight goals each as the tournament heads into the semi-finals.

Even though Argentina secured a 3-1 quarter-final victory over Switzerland on Sunday to help the defending champions reach the last four, Mbappe retained first place in the standings by virtue of the tournament’s tiebreak criteria.

The FIFA Golden Boot is awarded to the tournament’s leading scorer. If two or more players finish level on goals, the first tiebreaker is assists, followed by the fewest minutes played. Mbappe has provided three assists in 563 minutes, while Messi has two assists in 608 minutes, giving the France forward the advantage.

Norway’s Erling Haaland sits third with seven goals after his country’s quarter-final exit to England, ending his chances of challenging for the award.

England have two players still in contention, with midfielder Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane both on six goals and one assist. Bellingham is ranked fourth ahead of Kane after playing fewer minutes during the tournament.

With France, Argentina and England all through to the semi-finals, four of the top five players in the Golden Boot race will have at least one more opportunity to add to their goal tallies.

France face Spain in the first semi-final on Tuesday, July 14, while England take on defending champions Argentina on Wednesday, July 15.

The race for the Golden Boot is expected to go down to the wire, with every goal in the remaining matches potentially deciding who finishes as the tournament’s leading scorer.

Fans across Afghanistan can tune in to watch these exciting matches live and exclusively on Ariana Radio and Television Network. For updated schedules follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages.

International Sports

FIFA World Cup semi-final line-up confirmed

The winners of the two matches will advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, while the losing teams will contest the third-place play-off.

Published

3 hours ago

July 12, 2026

Ariana News

The FIFA World Cup semi-final line-up has been confirmed, with Argentina securing the final place in the last four after defeating Switzerland 3-1 in their quarter-final on Sunday.

The defending champions joined France, Spain and England in the semi-finals after a clinical display ended Switzerland’s hopes of a first World Cup semi-final appearance.

France were the first team to book their place in the final four after a 2-0 victory over Morocco on Thursday.

Spain then secured a dramatic 2-1 win over Belgium, with Mikel Merino scoring a late winner to set up a blockbuster semi-final against France.

England completed the semi-final line-up after edging Norway to reach the last four of the tournament for the first time since the 2018 World Cup.

The two semi-finals will be played over consecutive days, with France taking on Spain on Tuesday, July 14, before England face defending champions Argentina on Wednesday, July 15.

Semi-final fixtures:

• Tuesday, July 14: France vs Spain

• Wednesday, July 15: England vs Argentina

The winners of the two matches will advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, while the losing teams will contest the third-place play-off.

Latest News

Afghan envoy, UNHCR chief discuss support for returnees from Pakistan and Iran

Published

21 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Ariana News

Afghanistan’s ambassador to Qatar, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, has met with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Barham Salih, to discuss support for Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan and Iran.

According to the Afghan embassy in Doha, the meeting focused on ways to provide housing, healthcare, education and employment opportunities for returning Afghans.

The two sides also discussed complaints over the alleged illegal and forced confiscation of property and assets belonging to Afghan returnees, stressing the need for such property to be returned to its rightful owners.

Salih said he was aware of the challenges facing Afghan refugees and reaffirmed UNHCR’s commitment to working to address those issues.