Afghan girls attend a class in Kandahar, on September 18. The Taliban last year announced the reopening of schools for boys at all levels, while for girls it was limited to primary education. EPA
Afghan girls attend a class in Kandahar, on September 18. The Taliban last year announced the reopening of schools for boys at all levels, while for girls it was limited to primary education. EPA
Afghan girls attend a class in Kandahar, on September 18. The Taliban last year announced the reopening of schools for boys at all levels, while for girls it was limited to primary education. EPA
Obaidullah Baheer is a lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan
October 31, 2022
“What good is the kingship of the world?” the legendary Pashto-language poet Ghani Khan once wrote. “Why multiply your worries?”
The Taliban did not pay heed to his advice. The past 14 months have not been the best display of governance by the group. But it would be unfair to attribute the failures solely to them. William Bryd, a senior expert at the US Institute of Peace, brilliantly summarised the Taliban’s successes and failures in a recent piece for the popular national security blog Lawfare, in which he argues that the international community must understand the Taliban’s governance strategy if it wants to use what few tools it has left to engage with them.
The issues the Taliban face today can be broken down into inherited issues, inherent issues and self-created ones. As far as inherited issues go, there is the corruption endemic in Afghanistan’s state entities, the country’s over-reliance on an aid-driven economy and the looming humanitarian crisis that has its roots in the republic that preceded Taliban rule.
Afghan girls leave their school, which was shut hours after reopening in Kabul on March 23. All photos: AFP
The Taliban ordered girls' secondary schools in Afghanistan to close.
The policy reversal by the hardline Islamist group has led to confusion and heartbreak.
A initial statement by the Ministry of Education urged “all students” to come to school.
A ministry notice then said schools for girls would be closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture.
"We inform all girls' high schools and those schools that are having female students above class six that they are off until the next order," the notice read.
The latest setback for girls’ education is certain to receive condemnation from the international community.
The UN and US condemned the closures.
The decision appeared to be a concession to the rural backbone of the hardline Taliban movement.
Teachers and pupils from three secondary schools around Kabul said girls had returned in excitement, but were ordered to go home.
The inherent issues can be seen in the Taliban’s lack of experience in governance, and the difficulty they face in transforming from a flat and fluid insurgency to a tall and more formal government apparatus.
The issues the Taliban themselves have created include the group’s penchant for moral policing, human rights violations, crackdowns on free media and banning girls' education, among other things. Though most of the self-created issues are not unique to the Taliban – they are, in one form or another prevalent in other countries with whom the international community continues to engage – the issue of the girls' education ban is unprecedented in the modern world.
When it comes to the ban, we have heard a vast array of excuses from the Taliban leadership over the past 14 months, ranging from the cultural, logistical, financial and, ultimately, religious. It appears that those in the group who were willing to use the issue as political leverage to gain concessions from the international community took too long and let those who fundamentally oppose such education to consolidate their excuses.
In a situation where those closest to the Taliban’s supreme leader, or Emir, state that only he has the religious authority to ban a permissible act if, in his judgement, the harms outweigh the benefits, it is difficult to imagine how any internal or external pressure could overrule that decision. Yet, we see prominent members of the Taliban movement vocally opposing the ban. This raises the question of what it is these inner dissenters see that those of us on the outside cannot.
Those within the Taliban leadership advocating for the repeal of the ban do so for a few reasons. They believe that any pressure, whether it is internal in the form of demonstrations or external through the threat of sanctions, will only further harden the stance of the Emir. Demonstrations on Afghan streets in the face of a trigger-happy Taliban police force will always present a great risk of violence – not to mention an attractive target for the ISKP terrorist group. Conversely, when any repeal on the ban is perceived as having been imposed on the group from abroad, there is a need to appease nativist fighters by resisting such foreign pressure.
There is, however, another opening for advocates of girls’ education within the Taliban. The issue is occasionally presented by some within the movement not as religiously forbidden but one that the Emir believes to be forbidden only under the current circumstances. In other words, Afghan schools are not ready to be open to girls yet. They hope to challenge the hardliners’ cost-benefit analysis by showing that the cost of the ban – the erasure of women from public life – is greater than the benefits they see for the moral fabric of society. There are internal conversations within the Taliban happening right now, with advocates pushing this argument and also making public remarks to generate stronger discourse in favour of the opening of schools.
So where does that leave the international community? Countries that would like to see Afghan girls educated will have to consider changing their approach from applying external pressure to a more nuanced one that involves collectively brainstorming with and supporting those within the Taliban movement who are advocating for the opening of girls’ schools. It is, of course, likely that such a group’s motivations are not completely altruistic, but it is important to exploit their desire for their nascent government to have better foreign relations.
And what about those within the Taliban, beyond the Emir himself, who oppose girls education altogether? Is it worth engaging with them? That might have worked had those individuals publicly and honestly stated their opposition. But they have not, choosing silence or obfuscation instead. Hence the only opening that remains is that of working with the advocates.
By collectively designing messaging campaigns with the advocates and providing platforms to the pro-education leaders as well as religious scholars at Afghanistan’s existing educational institutions, the international community can help create a national discourse that will ultimately help the Taliban resolve their internal tension over the issue. Media campaigns that amplify voices from within the local community are always going to have a greater impact than campaigns that might be billed as western propaganda.
Afghanistan’s grand impasse over girls' education can only be broken by considering those within the Taliban who are risking their reputation by vocally advocating against the ban to be partners, and supporting them in winning the internal battle. Just as the ban came from within the Taliban, the repeal is likely to come from within the movement as well.
Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Family: Married, Mother of Tala, 18, Sharif, 14, Kareem, 2
Favourite Quote: “There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.”
Name: Razan Nabulsi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and Links
Nationality: Jordanian
Family: Married, Mother of Yahya, 3.5
Favourite Quote: A Chinese proverb that says: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results Lost to Oman by eight runs Beat Namibia by three wickets Lost to Oman by 12 runs Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
Who: India v Afghanistan What: One-off Test match, Bengaluru When: June 14 to 18 TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD, 8am starts Online: OSN Play (subscribers only)
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
