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Female teachers concerned about their future
Female teachers for grades seven to 12 say they are uncertain about their future as they have been instructed by the Ministry of Education not to return to work.
Many of these teachers say they are the only breadwinners in their families and have asked to return to teaching.
This comes after the Ministry of Education issued a notice calling on male students and male teachers from grades seven to 12 to return to school.
This came into effect on Saturday.
However, the notice did not make mention of female students and teachers, nor did it give any indication of what would happen in future to the hundreds of thousands of secondary school girls.
Khatara, a Grade 12 Pashto subject teacher at the Bibi Sara Khairkhana school in Kabul, said that the Kabul Education Department had asked her not to return to school until further notice, and that the education process for girls in Grades 7 and above had stopped.
Khatara, who is her family’s only breadwinner, has been a teacher at the school for 15 years. However, she is now struggling financially and has called on education ministry officials to allow female teachers to return to work.
“If an educated woman is not represented in society like a woman doctor, then who would treat women? If this issue is not addressed, there will be an education crisis in the country,” said Khatara, the school teacher.
Family members of Khatara are worried about what their future will entail if the family’s only breadwinner loses her job.
“We call on the Islamic Emirate to allow women to continue their work. Many women are their family’s only breadwinners,” said Basharatullah, Khatara’s brother.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Cultural Commision at the Ministry of Information and Culture said on Saturday that they are working on a way to resume the process of education for women and girls in the country.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund on Saturday welcomed the move to reopen secondary schools in Afghanistan, but stressed that girls must not be left out
“We are deeply worried, however, that many girls may not be allowed back at this time,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore in a statement.
She said it is critical for all girls to resume their education and that female teachers need to resume work.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance, Mohammad Nasir Akhund, has travelled to Iran at the head of a delegation following an official invitation from Iran’s Minister of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance said.
During the visit, Akhund is expected to meet with various Iranian officials to discuss bilateral economic, trade, customs and other related issues.
The visit will also include discussions on key topics for an upcoming meeting of the joint economic commission between Afghanistan and Iran.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, on Saturday inaugurated the rehabilitated 110-kilovolt (kV) power transmission line connecting Maimana and Andkhoy in Faryab province.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office for Economic Affairs, the completion of the project will provide around 60,000 consumers with a more stable and reliable electricity supply.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Baradar said the project would help meet local electricity needs, expand industrial activities and contribute to the region’s economic and social development.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) had implemented several electricity generation and transmission projects in a relatively short period, reducing reliance on imported electricity and power outages while creating new opportunities for industrial growth.
Baradar also said several major electricity infrastructure projects would be implemented over the next year to ensure a sustainable power supply, adding that the country’s existing electricity capacity would increase several times.
Addressing Afghanistan’s security situation, Baradar said the country was currently experiencing a level of security that he claimed was unmatched in most countries. He added that foreign tourists and visitors had continued to travel to Afghanistan since the IEA returned to power, including to remote areas of the country.
He rejected security-related concerns raised by some countries over travel to Afghanistan, describing them as unfounded and politically motivated. He called on the international community to strengthen meaningful engagement with Afghanistan based on realities on the ground.
Baradar also invited domestic and foreign investors to invest in Afghanistan, saying a secure and suitable environment had been created for large- and medium-scale investments.
The UN refugee agency’s representative in Afghanistan has called on the international community to maintain their support for Afghanistan, warning that the return of more than 6.5 million Afghans over the past three years has placed significant pressure on the country.
Arafat Jamal, UNHCR Representative in Afghanistan, made the remarks during the eighth International Conference on Action with Women and Peace in Seoul, South Korea, where he highlighted the challenges facing returnees amid poverty, drought and climate-related disasters.
He said the returning population accounts for around 15 percent of Afghanistan’s total population, describing the influx as one of the world’s largest movements of people. He added that Afghanistan was struggling to absorb the large-scale returns due to its existing economic and humanitarian challenges.
Jamal also highlighted difficulties facing Afghan women, saying that the absence of war does not necessarily mean all citizens enjoy safety.
In a separate interview with The Korea Times during his visit to Seoul, Jamal said supporting refugees and vulnerable countries was not simply an act of charity but an investment in a safer and more stable international environment.
He stressed that Afghanistan’s strategic location, bordering seven countries including China, Pakistan and Iran, makes its stability a matter of wider international concern. Although the country is relatively calm at present, he cautioned that this situation should not be taken for granted without continued international support.
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