The Taliban on Tuesday shut down all educational centers for Afghan girls in the central Bamiyan province of Afghanistan.
Dozens of female students – with broken hearts and in tears – were sent home by the Taliban’s provincial vice and virtue directorate.
Nilofar, a female student, while crying, said that the Taliban fighters “flocked like a herd of sheep” into their classrooms and “pulled us out of classrooms in a bad manner.”
“When we wanted to talk about why you don’t let us study, they responded to us with a gun and told us to get out [of the center],” she said.
“What harm does our studying inflict on them? Where did Islam [say] that girls can’t study, we worked so hard, and all the dreams we had in our hearts were destroyed. I am really upset,” Nilofar added.
Banu, another student attending a Kankor (university exam) preparation class, said: “Today we came to [the center] with a lot of enthusiasm; our instructor was teaching when suddenly the Taliban entered [the classroom] and brutally slammed the door to the wall and took pictures of us, and then they pulled us out of the class.”
“When I asked, why did you do this, [the Taliban] pointed guns at us and told us that we have no right to study, then they closed the course [building] and locked its gate,” she added.
Banu stated: “Aren’t we human, we are in this society, half of which are women; if women are not allowed to study how can we help to develop our society.”
“We are women, and we will become mothers [of the next generation] tomorrow and would raise our children. If we are not even allowed to raise our voices how can we develop the society,” she added.
Raihana, another student, raised her concerns about the continuation of restrictions imposed by the Taliban on Afghan women and girls, stating: “We have been deprived of school, [educational] centers for no reason. We are wondering what the problem is if girls study?”
“It is the Taliban’s misconception that we girls cannot study,” she stressed.
“The Taliban lashed girls during the biometric for Kankor exam because it was a little bit crowded, why?” Raihana said.
“I witnessed when the students wanted to know the reason why they (the Taliban) closed the course. They threatened us with a gun,” she added.
“In this century, threatening a woman for studying is really a shame,” she said.
Raihana called on the Taliban to allow women and girls to work and study so that they could serve their country, stating: “One day we shall not be insulted for being Afghans.”
The Taliban in December 2022, banned women from university education and working for non-government organizations (NGOs).
