Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
KABUL – The Taliban are radically transforming Afghanistan’s education system, imposing a deeply conservative version of Islam that is reshaping school and university curricula nationwide. Over the past three years, thegroup has restructured educational content to align with their strict interpretations, systematically removing subjects related to human rights, women’s rights, and democratic principles.
According to Rawadari, a prominent Afghan human rights organization, the changes are far-reaching. Girls are banned from attending school beyond sixth grade, and women are excluded from higher education altogether. In a significant move, all content related to equality, liberty, and democracy has been purged from academic programs, which the Taliban deem contradictory to their ideology. Educational access for ethnic and religious minorities has also been severely restricted, including limiting instruction in their native languages and cultural histories.
Sardar Mohammad Rahimi, former Deputy Minister of Education in Afghanistan, told DW that the Taliban’s ability to create new educational content is limited, estimating it would take at least five years to overhaul the system. Meanwhile, the regime’s focus has shifted towards expanding madrassas—religious schools that promote the Taliban’s radical Islamic teachings.
“The Taliban are creating a ‘hell of structural oppression and systematic violence’ against women and minorities,” said Maryam Marof Arwin, an Afghan women’s rights activist. These changes are part of broader efforts to enforce rigid Sharia laws, resulting in brutal punishments for women and girls accused of “un-Islamic behavior,” including imprisonment, sexual violence, and public floggings. Many girls who can no longer access education are also being forced into marriage.
With many intellectuals and educators fleeing the country, the Taliban’s restructuring is expected to leave a long-lasting impact on Afghanistan’s educational future. Rahimi, now a visiting professor in Paris, stresses the urgent need for coordinated international efforts to provide online education to Afghan children, particularly girls, to mitigate the devastating effects of these policies.
