Afghan student in London, Ont., says world will feel impact of Taliban barring girls from school

A London, Ont., university student from Afghanistan says the Taliban's decision against opening schools to girls above Grade 6 has devastated Afghan families, and will only hurt the country - and the world - in the long run. 

Taliban officials confirmed the decision Wednesday, at the start of the new school year in Afghanistan. The announcement defied earlier assurances that the ban would be lifted after the regime took control of the country in August 2021.  

"I believe most of us were not expecting this decision," said Abdul Samad Katawazy, a public administration student at Western University. "This decision comes very unexpectedly. And I was very heartbroken, very disappointed by how this turned out." 

Before starting his master's degree at Western, Katawazy worked with the American University of Afghanistan as a senior research lead focusing on women's rights and education. He later worked with the government as an advisor to the minister of commerce as part of rebuilding efforts. 

Katawazy said he was in Afghanistan when the capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban on August 15. He is currently in touch with female students from the American University of Afghanistan, as well as friends and family members who wanted their daughters to receive an education. 

"They are very hopeless," said Katawazy. "They don't know what to do, how to overcome the situation. The only hope is if the Taliban reopens the school. But we're not sure that that will happen."  

There have been persistent reports since the Taliban swept to power in August of differences among the senior leadership, with the more hardline among the movement at odds with the pragmatists. 

The pragmatists reportedly want to see a greater engagement with the world, and while staying true to their Islamic beliefs, avoid banning women from work and girls from schools.

However, Waheedullah Hashmi, external relations and donor representative with the Taliban-led administration, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the religiously-driven Taliban administration fears that enrolling girls beyond Grade 6 could alienate their rural base.  

Girls have been banned from school beyond Grade 6 in most of the country since the Taliban's return. Universities opened up earlier this year in much of the country, but since taking power, Taliban edicts have been erratic, and while a handful of provinces continued to provide education to all, most provinces closed educational institutions for girls and women. In Kabul, private schools and universities have operated uninterrupted.

Barring Afghan girls from school 'impacts everyone' 

Katawazy said he knew from his work as a researcher that because of poverty or tradition, only around 16 per cent of Afghan girls would have been able to attend school to begin with.

He said depriving that small percentage of their education would have negative impacts on Afghanistan in the long term, and further isolate the country from the international community. 

"It is a building block of peace," he said of education for girls. 

He said that the whole world will ultimately feel the ramifications of losing out on the prosperity that could have been achieved through that schooling. 

"We live in a global village," said Katawazy.  "So anything happening in Afghanistan, we cannot deny the impacts of and the outcomes of that affecting the rest of the world. Maybe the impacts would not be as harsh on other parts of the world, but it does impact everyone." 

With files from the Associated Press.