KABUL – A report from the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch is sounding the alarm on the irreversible impact of the Taliban’s approach to education, stating that it will have lasting consequences for both boys and girls in Afghanistan. While the harsh crackdown on education for Afghan women and girls has been widely documented, HRW emphasizes that the Taliban’s policies are causing significant harm to the entire education system for boys as well.

The report, released on December 5, includes firsthand accounts from educators and students describing the transformation of schools since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. The shift includes the adoption of a more religious-based curriculum enforced through alleged abuse. The report highlights a rise in corporal punishment, regressive changes in the curriculum, and the removal of professional female teachers from boys’ schools.

Sahar Fetrat, the HRW researcher who authored the report, warns that the Taliban’s actions risk creating a “lost generation deprived of a quality education.” The report suggests that the Taliban’s influence is causing the education system to revert to conditions seen in the country before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

In response to the report, the Taliban-run Ministry of Education rejected the claims, urging international institutions to visit and observe the situation in Afghan schools. The ministry stated that no female teachers were fired, and if transferred from boys’ schools, they were employed in girls’ schools.

As the school year in Afghanistan concludes in December, the Taliban’s restrictions on education intensify. Girls completing the sixth grade are no longer allowed to enter classrooms, and young women are barred from attending universities, with exclusion from various professions. The U.S. Treasury has imposed new sanctions against two Taliban officials, citing their roles in the systemic repression of women and girls, particularly highlighting the severe discrimination in banning girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade.

Culled from Afghanistan Times