Afghan girls are turning to religious madrassas in place of official schools, a year after the Taliban effectively banned girls above the age of 13 from learning in classrooms.
In the remote village of Shaikhan in eastern Laghman province, more than 300 girls were overnight left without access to education when the group took over in August 2021. In the village’s Babaji High School, a 45-minute drive from the provincial capital Mehtarlam Baba, now only girls in grades one to six are studying.
Husna, 16, who was preparing to graduate from Babaji next year, told The National she has already forgotten everything she learnt and gets bored at home.
“There is no one at home to help me with studies so I keep forgetting everything I studied at school. I am busy doing house chores all day. I miss my school and my classmates. I can’t see them every day.”
But some girls find refuge at an all-female religious school in the nearby village of Lwarra Morra. A female instructor from the neighbouring village runs the religious school at her house, where girls learn basic religious scripts and translation of the Quran.
Inside the guest room, the madrassa can usually accommodate about 30 people, but on busy days, up to 100 students sit on the room's floor. The windows have no glass and are sealed with plastic sheeting during winter.
Crucially, the madrassa provides a place for pupils to socialise with other girls.
“I come here to learn something useful. I don’t want to become illiterate all over again. I also meet my friends here. In the schoolyard, we would play and eat snacks together. But now we can only see each other and share stories,” said Marzia, 14.
The female instructor takes a two-hour class with a male scholar by telephone every evening before she teaches her students the next morning.
“She records the lesson every night on her phone and repeats it several times before she is ready for teaching her students the next day,” Rohullah, the female instructor’s husband, told The National. “About 200 girls from surrounding villages study at our house in morning and evening shifts and they are really happy,” he said.
The instructor, who asked not to be named, was prevented by her husband from speaking to The National herself.
While informal schooling may be on the increase, the Babaji High School is closer to failing ― a waste of the colossal effort it took to get it open in the first place.
It is the only girls’ school in the area and community elders had to initially convince local officials to invest in construction of the school building and then families to send their girls to school.
“There was so much disinterest and even resistance from everyone ― land owners, village elders and community members ― to have a girls’ school in the village, but we were committed,” Irman Azizi, head of the village council, told The National.
“Together with the imam in our village and some community elders, we had to talk to families and convince them to send their girls to school. If secondary schools don’t reopen for girls, our years-long efforts will be wasted.”
Like many other parts of the country, younger girls in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan are allowed to go to school only in the company of an elder sister or another family member. Now that their older sisters can no longer attend, some of the younger girls in Babaji High School cannot go to school either.
Despite repeated promises by the Taliban government to reopen schools for all girls and boys, girls' secondary schools remain closed in several provinces. Education experts believe barring girls from going to school is already having a huge effect on the girls.
“Many girls find it difficult to comprehend why they are not allowed to go to school while boys from their families go to school every day,” Ahmadullah Safi, an educator and expert in Kabul, told The National.
“Even if girls’ secondary schools reopen tomorrow, which is unlikely, female students will have major challenges in catching up with their previous studies. They might have already forgotten a big part of what they studied.”
During their first rule between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban prohibited female pupils and teachers from going to school. This time, even though the Taliban said they will provide some form of education to girls by implementing new parameters, it is not certain when secondary schools will reopen for girls.
So far, the Taliban have mentioned technical issues, cultural considerations and differences among religious clerics over girls’ education as the main reasons for the closure of schools in many provinces. However, schools are open for girls of all ages in at least nine provinces and girls attend universities throughout the country, with classes for males and females segregated.
What is a black hole?
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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
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Maghreb United
Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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Living in...
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.
Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
Twenty20 squad: Babar Azam (captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Honeymoonish
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
Brief scores:
Barcelona 3
Pique 38', Messi 51 (pen), Suarez 82'
Rayo Vallecano 1
De Tomas Gomez 24'
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