Following the Taliban’s educational ban on girls above the sixth grade, many girls have turned to official and unofficial religious schools. Some of these girls in Kunduz province say that they did not attend religious schools, even with encouragement and free lessons when the doors of regular schools were open to them. The report also reveals that in these religious schools, the Taliban tell girls that they were created to serve men and should not involve themselves in political and governmental matters. This province has 500 regular and 800 religious schools, with most of the religious schools being established in the last two years.
Some of the girls deprived of education in Kunduz province, following the ban on education above the sixth grade, have sought religious education in official and unofficial schools in this province. These girls say that when regular schools were open to them, very few attended religious schools, and even private religious schools did not charge them any fees to attract and encourage them. However, they add that now, not only have the costs of these religious schools increased, but the admission of girls is also not easy due to the lack of capacity.
The report’s findings indicate that currently, older girls, even those above the twelfth grade, are attending religious schools without any Taliban-imposed restrictions.
Meanwhile, local Taliban officials in Kunduz province say that 500 regular schools for boys and girls are operating in this province. According to them, over the past two years, more than 800 religious schools for boys and girls have also been established in Kunduz province.
Many of these religious schools are specifically for girls and are taught by women in separate houses and schools. The report’s information indicates that these girls’ schools are supported by local Taliban officials in Kunduz. These Taliban officials hold special and elaborate graduation ceremonies for the religious schools.
Currently, some Taliban officials operate jihadist schools where boys and girls are taught the religious views of the group. Findings by the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicate that the teaching methods in many of these schools, both in the city and rural areas of the province, involve instilling Taliban ideology in both religious schools for boys and girls.
Some girls studying in Taliban religious schools in Kunduz province say that despite having many dreams for their future, they are told in these schools that women are created to serve men and should not participate in political or governmental matters. According to these girls, opposing polygamy is discouraged and said to be against the “Orders of God”, and they are taught that they must obey their husbands.
Adela (pseudonym), a girl from Kunduz who studied up to the tenth grade before the ban of the Taliban on regular schools, says that like many other girls, she turned to religious school due to unemployment and to change her mental and psychological state. She says that in the Taliban’s religious school, in addition to difficult Arabic texts and religious books, they are taught about marital duties, normalizing polygamy, and the idea that a woman’s role is to raise her children at home rather than work and earn a living. Adela states that they are told that women who worked in offices committed many sins by being with non-mahram (religiously unlawful) men.
Currently, religious schools have set specific conditions and restrictions for admitting girls. According to the rules of these schools, girls must wear a “full black hijab” to be accepted and enrolled in the religious schools.
Zahra (pseudonym), another girl, has been studying in a religious school for the past six years in addition to attending regular school. She says she has no problem being the second or third wife of a man. According to her, if she becomes the second or third wife, it is her destiny, and she accepts it. Zahra emphasizes that refusing this is to reject God’s command. She also stresses that loving a boy or man before marriage is “shamelessness and an unforgivable sin.”
Najila (pseudonym), who has only one year left to graduate from a religious school, says that the lessons at the religious school are difficult for her. According to her, girls who initially hate the Taliban gradually change and some even become interested in marrying Taliban fighters. Najila says, “I went to the religious school several times with my cousin. Sometimes, people there promote the Taliban regime to the girls. Now, girls don’t have a problem marrying the Taliban. In the past, a girl would rather die than accept marriage with a Taliban member.”
She states that girls who have graduated from a regular school or university do not find it acceptable to have a Taliban member as a life partner, and the Taliban have often received negative responses when proposing to these girls.
However, girls who are engaged in religious education under the Taliban’s rule are willing to become the second, third, or fourth wives of Taliban fighters, and they find this acceptable.
Meanwhile, sources say that sometimes girls are encouraged to marry Taliban members by their teachers, who propose to the girls on behalf of the fighters.
Sources also indicate that many religious schools in the districts and outskirts of Kunduz City are officially registered by the Taliban, and their teachers receive salaries and facilities from the group. However, religious schools in Kunduz City itself have not yet received these benefits from the Taliban.
Education experts believe that the Taliban, with their serious support and the establishment of many religious schools, do not intend to reopen regular schools for girls. They say that girls in regular schools grow up free and uninfluenced by Taliban ideology and are likely to protest against the Taliban’s policies, similar to the protesting girls.
Over the past two years, the Taliban have even competed among themselves for second, third, and fourth marriages. Hasht-e Subh Daily’s information from Kunduz province shows that the Taliban frequently propose to girls for second, third, or fourth marriages, but these proposals are often rejected. Reliable information from Kunduz also indicates that many Taliban officials and fighters have forced girls into marriage.
You can read the Persian version of this daily report here:
طالبان و تقویت مدارس دینی؛ برخی دختران در مدارس کندز علاقهمند ازدواج با طالبان میشوند
