HERAT, Afghanistan — A school in the western province of Herat has made wearing the Taliban’s newly mandated school uniform compulsory for students, according to sources and an official notice obtained by Amu TV.
The notice, issued by Saifi Herawi School in Herat, instructs students to adhere to the dress code introduced by the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Education.
The notice says that students in grades 1 to 9 must wear a light blue pirhan (tunic) and tunban (trousers) with a white cap.
It also says that students in grades 10 to 12 must wear a white tunic and trousers along with a white turban.
The regulation, approved by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, requires male students and teachers to wear traditional long tunics and trousers (pirhan and tunban), along with a white turban or cap.
Under the directive, students in grades 1 to 9 must wear light blue pirhan and tunban with a white turban or cap, while those in grades 10 to 12 are required to wear an all-white version of the same attire. The regulation also specifies that the tunic must extend below the knees.
While private schools are allowed to choose their own uniform colors, they must still comply with the Taliban’s broader guidelines. The Taliban’s Oversight and Evaluation Department has been tasked with enforcing the dress code nationwide.
The new policy closely mirrors the uniform requirements imposed during the Taliban’s first regime in the late 1990s.
The dress code is part of a broader set of education policies introduced by the Taliban, which have drawn widespread criticism. Many Afghans view the move as an attempt to further Islamicize the school system and erase distinctions between public schools and religious madrasas.
Critics argue that the Taliban’s education policies represent a rejection of modern educational values. Some have described the uniform mandate, along with curriculum changes, as an effort to reshape Afghanistan’s education system along ideological lines.
