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Taliban allowing girls’ schools in rural Afghanistan
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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IEA should respond to Pakistan’s security concerns with concrete actions: Andrabi
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi says both Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sadyr Japarov, the President of Kyrgyzstan, who visited Islamabad on Thursday, expressed their mutual commitment to a peaceful, stable Afghanistan with a sustainable future for the Afghan people.
Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Andrabi stated that both sides agreed that the Islamic Emirate must fulfill its obligations toward the international community and take concrete steps against terrorist groups to address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns.
This comes while the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly emphasized that no terrorist groups operate from Afghan territory and that it will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against any country.
The Islamic Emirate has also stated that Pakistan’s security concerns are an internal issue of that country, and Pakistan itself must take measures to prevent any security incidents.
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Malaysia’s PM calls peaceful solution to Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has voiced deep concern over escalating tensions between the Afghanistan–Pakistan during a telephone conversation with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Anwar said he emphasized Malaysia’s concerns regarding regional stability and urged all parties to pursue a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomatic engagement to prevent further escalation.
His remarks follow media reports indicating heightened tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan after a series of attacks in October.
During the call, the two leaders also exchanged views on several aspects of Malaysia–Pakistan bilateral relations.
Anwar also briefed Sharif on the ongoing flood situation in Malaysia and similar challenges facing neighboring countries, including Indonesia and Thailand.
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Afghanistan makes major strides in cutting drug trafficking, says Putin
Putin stated that Afghan authorities have “substantially reduced” opium cultivation and are “seriously confronting” drug-related threats from within their borders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Afghanistan has taken “active and effective” steps to curb drug trafficking, noting a significant drop in opium production across the country. He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with India Today during his India trip, highlighting what he described as “visible progress” in Afghanistan’s internal security efforts.
Putin stated that Afghan authorities have “substantially reduced” opium cultivation and are “seriously confronting” drug-related threats from within their borders. He added that Afghanistan has also made important advancements in the fight against terrorism.
Responding to a question about why Russia officially recognized the Islamic Emirate, the Russian president said Afghanistan had been engulfed in civil conflict for many years, but the current authorities now hold control over the country. “This is the reality, and it must be acknowledged,” Putin emphasized.
He further noted that maintaining contact with Afghanistan’s leadership is crucial for shaping events inside the country. “If you want influence, you must engage with the people in charge — and that is exactly what we are doing,” he said.
Putin’s remarks come as several regional powers continue to recalibrate their diplomatic strategies toward Afghanistan, focusing on stability, counterterrorism, and economic cooperation.
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