Female students who relocated to Pakistan to escape the Taliban’s education ban in Afghanistan are facing an uncertain future. In December 2022, the Taliban prohibited female students from attending universities.
Some of the girls who moved to Pakistan reported that they have also been unable to continue their university education in the neighboring country. Rokhsar, an Afghan student now working at a market in Islamabad, had to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban closed universities for women. She once aspired to become Afghanistan’s first female astronaut. “I wanted to become an astronaut in the future, the first female astronaut from Afghanistan; but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I miss Kabul, my education, and my friends deeply,” she expressed.
Zahra, another student confronting an uncertain future in Pakistan, shared her frustration. “I sometimes want to burn my documents because they are useless to me. It has been two years since I arrived here, but I am facing uncertainty with no access to education,” she said.
Zahra’s father, Tali Mohammad, noted that the Taliban’s restrictions on women compelled his family to leave Afghanistan. “A father dreams of contributing good children to his society, people, and country,” Mohammad stated, voicing his concerns about the Taliban’s ban on female education.
The Taliban has extensively barred girls and women in Afghanistan from attending schools beyond grade six, universities, and work. According to the United Nations, the Taliban has issued over 50 decrees restricting women’s access to their rights across various aspects.
