Afghanistan’s education minister has painted a devastating picture of how the Taliban's return could overturn two decades of progress for women in the country.
Rangina Hamidi said she was confident in her country’s security forces, but feared a return to the dark days of 1996 when the Taliban controlled most of Afghanistan and heavily restricted the rights of girls and women.
But Ms Hamidi said that despite the problems, the government was determined to address the education issues in Afghanistan.
Violence is surging in Afghanistan as the Taliban expand their presence through rural areas of the country and clash with Afghan security forces.
Nato forces, which have been in Afghanistan in some form since 2001, are withdrawing from the country.
“My biggest fear is, God forbid, a return of 1996 when, literally, girls were pulled out of school, schools were shut down, female teachers were sent home, female workers in any sector were sent home,” Ms Hamidi, the first female Afghan education minister since the Taliban was ousted from Kabul in 2001, told The National.
“I'm hoping, and I have confidence in my government, that we will fight to not have that repeat itself."
Ms Hamidi was speaking on the sidelines of the Global Education Summit in London, which aims to raise at least $5 billion to support the work of the Global Partnership for Education.
The GPE is the only fund and partnership dedicated exclusively to transforming education in lower-income countries.
She also spoke of “the promise that the international community made 20 years ago, to all Afghan women and Afghan girls”.
Back then the UK, US and local allies pushed the Taliban out of power, offering the possibility of an education to those to whom it had been denied.
“If the move is to align the international community's commitment with the Taliban to come back in whatever shape or form they would like and without considering the gains of the past 20 years ... that's going to be a huge loss on the trust that the Afghan population had in the international community as well,” Ms Hamidi said.
Afghan government and Taliban representatives have been holding largely unsuccessful peace talks in Doha, Qatar amid the violence.
Ms Hamidi said much more work needed to be done to improve the Afghan education system.
While large investments in the education sector in the past two decades led to more schools opening, she said the quality had not been given enough attention.
Ms Hamidi, who took on the role of Education Minister last year, highlighted that pupils before the Communist coup in the late 1970s spent 40 per cent more time on reading and writing than today.
“When we graduate kids who are semi-illiterate, even after 12 years of giving their time to us, I do consider it a shame on the ministry's efforts. Why haven't we focused on the basics?
“Yes, it's wonderful to show to the international community that we've raised our bar graph on attracting more and more students year by year and building more schools.
"That's an important element, I'm not denying that. But how come we did not focus on the basics to help us bring the quality education that we needed?”
But she said perspective was important and that in 2001, the country was “recovering from zero”.
Ms Hamidi referred to a conversation she had with Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president from 2001-2014, who reminded her that 20 years ago, the goal was just getting the schools open and the children in.
“There's a lot of positives, we cannot deny that," she said. "The mere fact that schools have increased in their numbers.
"The amount of children going to school today beats any record in our history that we've had, even beyond the past 20 years.
“A lot of the progress is our young generation, the generation that has become adults in the past 20 years. They're a product of our education system, good or bad.”
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
Match info
Karnataka Tuskers 110-3
J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16
Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs
K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
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SECRET%20INVASION
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ali%20Selim%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Samuel%20L%20Jackson%2C%20Olivia%20Coleman%2C%20Kingsley%20Ben-Adir%2C%20Emilia%20Clarke%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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more from Janine di Giovanni
The burning issue
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.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
