Over the past two decades, the Taliban have inflicted significant damage and losses on government facilities through their suicide, explosive, and assault attacks. Educational facilities and the deprivation of children in various parts of the country from education have been recognized as one of the consequences of the Taliban’s war over the past twenty years. On the other hand, the previous government consistently claimed that due to security threats and Taliban attacks, it could not rebuild schools in many remote areas. However, residents of Badakhshan province claim that about 50% of the schools in this province do not have a building. They blame the Taliban for depriving their children of the right to education, as in the shadow of war, they have been unable to send their children to school.
In recent years, the Taliban have engaged in intense battles against previous security forces in Badakhshan province, located in the northeast of the country. Residents of this province report that ongoing security threats and persistent Taliban conflicts have resulted in many children being unable to attend school, while numerous schools in the area remain without proper buildings.
Some residents of Badakhshan criticize the Taliban regime for not addressing the issue of schools in this province for over two and a half years. According to them, the Taliban have done nothing to build schools or provide educational facilities in this province.
Some residents of Badakhshan province, speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, demand balanced development and allocation of the necessary budget for the construction of school buildings, and educational facilities, and opening the doors of educational institutions to girls beyond the sixth grade.
Residents of Badakhshan say that the shortage of qualified teachers and lack of educational facilities are among the challenges that have restricted or even deprived most students in this province from accessing their right to education.
Mahdi Qaderi, a resident of Sheghnan district in Badakhshan province, states that he relocated his daughters to the city for education because the Taliban destroyed the buildings of girls’ schools.
Mr. Qaderi adds that even in the city, his daughters do not have the right to education. He states: “One of my daughters is studying at university, and the other was in the eleventh grade when the school closed. For now, they are taking online courses.”
This man, who left his village to ensure his daughters’ education, condemns the Taliban’s closure of school gates as a violation of human rights and cultural values. He urges schools and universities to admit girls and women and calls for the reconstruction of destroyed school buildings in the province to commence.
However, local Taliban authorities in the education department of Badakhshan province say that out of 646 schools across this province, most face classroom and building shortages. According to them, students in this province study in open-air spaces.
Sources in the education department of Badakhshan also state that due to the recent Taliban wars with the previous government, some schools for girls and boys in the districts of Yaftal Sufla, Jurm, Wurduj, Tishkan, Raghestan, Shuhada, and Baharak of this province have been destroyed and are in serious need of repair and reconstruction.
These sources add that some schools in the urban areas of Fayzabad and a small number in the districts of Sheghnan, Eshkashem, Zebak, and Arghanj Khwa have buildings, but 50% of the other schools in Badakhshan lack buildings.
These sources further specify that more than 228,000 male students and 185,000 female students in 246 schools, including two literacy schools located in Sheghnan district and Fayzabad city, are engaged in learning and education. Among the 185,000 female students, 85,000 are beyond the sixth grade and have been unable to continue their education due to Taliban-imposed restrictions for the last three years.
According to sources, there are over 11,150 educators in the education department of Badakhshan province, among whom 3,898 are women.
Sources in the education department of Badakhshan state that approximately 13 million Afghanis are needed for the repair and reconstruction of school buildings in some districts of this province.
Residents of Badakhshan province are demanding the reconstruction of schools, as millions of girls have been deprived of their right to education due to Taliban-imposed restrictions. Despite domestic and international pressures, this group has kept the gates of educational institutions closed to girls and women and has issued dozens of other restrictive orders against women.
