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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.
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.
Mikel Merino scored a late winner as Spain defeated Belgium 2-1 to reach the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, setting up a clash with France.
Spain took the lead through Fabián Ruiz in the 30th minute before Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere equalised 11 minutes later with a header.
The match appeared headed for extra time until substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who replaced the injured Thibaut Courtois, failed to hold Pau Cubarsí’s shot, allowing Merino to score the winner in the 88th minute.
It was Merino’s second consecutive match-winning goal as a substitute after his late strike against Portugal in the round of 16.
Spain, who last won the World Cup in 2010, will face France on Tuesday in Dallas for a place in the final. Belgium’s tournament ended after suffering key injury setbacks, including the loss of Courtois and midfielder Amadou Onana.
Ariana Television Network (ATN) is broadcasting every FIFA World Cup 2026 match live across Afghanistan. Football fans can also follow Ariana Television and Ariana News on Facebook, X, Instagram and Telegram for the latest match schedules, live coverage, highlights and tournament updates.
Former Afghan lawmaker Abdul Zahir Qadeer has been extradited to the United States to face federal charges related to alleged international drug trafficking and firearms offenses, U.S. authorities said.
Qadeer, 52, appeared in New York court on Friday after being transferred from Kenya and was ordered to remain in custody pending trial, according to federal prosecutors.
He was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 15 before being extradited to the United States to face charges that he conspired to import heroin and methamphetamine and was involved in related firearms offenses.
U.S. authorities said Qadeer previously served as a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and as the first deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s parliament.
Prosecutors allege that Qadeer was involved in a large-scale international operation involving narcotics and military-grade weapons, including heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said Qadeer allegedly attempted to traffic large quantities of drugs and weapons, including by selling a two-kilogram test shipment of methamphetamine to a buyer in South Africa. Authorities said the buyer was working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“Qadeer allegedly sold a two-kilogram test shipment to a buyer, which was delivered in South Africa,” Clayton said in a statement.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Qadeer had presented himself as a political leader in Afghanistan while allegedly running a criminal enterprise involved in narcotics and weapons trafficking.
If convicted, Qadeer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison on the drug-related charges and could receive a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
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