It has been six months since the Islamist Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, and while the provisional administration has continued to rule, secondary education for girls has not resumed and the international community is increasingly criticizing it.
In Afghanistan, half a year ago, on August 15, last year, the Taliban conquered the capital Kabul and then launched an interim government.
Tullivan is a secondary school that corresponds to junior high school and high school in Japan, and ordered girls to wait at home because the environment is not in line with Islamic teachings interpreted by Tullivan, such as single-sex education. Can no longer attend school.
For these girls in Afghanistan, a video distribution company in neighboring Iran has started a service that distributes lesson videos for free, and it is used by nearly 2,000 people.
In addition, a female teacher who worked at a public school in Kabul gathers 25 students in places that are out of the reach of the Taliban, such as relatives' homes, and continues to teach for free.
The female teacher said, "There are people traveling in space in the world, but in Afghanistan, students can't go to school and feel miserable. You can't leave the child you want to study."
Regarding secondary education for girls, the Ministry of Education of Tullivan's interim administration has indicated that it will resume in late next month (March), but it is unclear whether it can be implemented, and the international community is increasingly criticizing it. ..
Taliban Education Minister "No one's instructions"
Under the provisional administration of Tullivan, an Islamic power in Afghanistan, the acting minister of education in charge of girls' education responded to an independent interview with NHK, and after Tullivan's reinstatement, schoolgirls were ordered to wait at home in most secondary schools, which are Japanese junior high schools and high schools. I was unable to attend school because of this, and I argued that I would not receive any instructions from the criticism of the international community.
The Taliban's interim administration has given its own interpretation that it is against Islamic teaching for men and women to study in the same place, and in Afghanistan most of Japan's middle and high schools prevent girls from attending school, and the international community. Has been criticized by.
"Afghanistan is an independent nation and we do not receive any instructions on the resumption of girls' education," the Taliban's interim government's acting minister for education, Nurulla Munir, said in an independent interview with NHK in the capital Kabul on the 17th. I repelled.
On the other hand, he said, "The reason why girls' education cannot be resumed in secondary school is because of religious and cultural issues. We are making new rules and waiting for the permission of upper management." After preparing, he also indicated his intention to allow girls to attend secondary school.
In Afghanistan, due to the reinstatement of the Taliban, public universities and most secondary schools except urban areas were closed, but some of the public universities resumed classes from the 2nd of this month.
The Taliban has indicated that it will resume secondary school in late next month, but there are still many issues such as unpaid teachers' salaries, and it is unclear whether it can be implemented.
Continue class in a place that is out of the reach of the Taliban
In Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, there are teachers who gather their students out of the Taliban's eyes and continue their lessons.
The teacher is a female and was in charge of a girls' class at a secondary school in Kabul, but since August last year, her students have been ordered to wait at home and she has been suspended from work.
In order to continue to provide students with learning opportunities, we started so-called "underground lessons" in September last year without the permission of the authorities.
"Underground lessons" are held for 6 days a week at relatives' homes without any tuition fees.
Twenty-five students sat on the carpet in a room without a blackboard or desk and took notes.
The teacher explained to her neighbors that she was "teaching girls to sew," and she was very careful not to notice the Taliban.
One of his students returned from neighboring Pakistan, where he lived as a refugee, two years ago, and before the Taliban's reinstatement, he was studying in a class in his third year of high school in Japan.
The student said, "Family is in favor of taking classes, but in Afghanistan now, women cannot study or go out safely, so I'm not totally in favor of it. I want to be a lawyer in the future, so I'm in class. But I don't know if Tullivan's interim administration will allow women to work, so I can't be optimistic about the future. "
The teacher said, "There are people traveling in space in the world, but in Afghanistan, students can't go to school and feel miserable. School is like a human spine, and without education, this country. No pilots, doctors or technicians will be born from this. Even if the interim administration does not reopen the school, I have a responsibility to teach students and I will continue my classes here. "
Free delivery of lesson videos from neighboring Iran
In Iran, a neighboring country of Afghanistan, a major video distribution company has launched a service to distribute free lesson videos for Afghan students who are out of school.
The language in the video is Persian spoken in Iran, but because it is close to Dari, one of the official languages of Afghanistan, many students can understand it.
An 18-year-old female student living in the capital Kabul was unable to attend school and was feeling delayed in studying, so she found out about this service on the Internet.
In the future, female students aiming to become doctors began to watch videos with their friends on a regular basis, and on this day they played physics videos and took notes.
The student said, "When I was wondering how to study after the Taliban's reinstatement, I learned that the Iranian site offers online lessons. Now we have options other than online lessons. "No," he said unfortunately.
Another 16-year-old schoolgirl said, "I don't want to be left behind when school starts, so I'm going to continue studying at home. It's very difficult to study alone. "
The company currently distributes over 1400 videos in math, science and English, and is used by about 70,000 people in Iran and nearly 2,000 people in Afghanistan.
Founder Mehdi Shakrimogaddam said, "I came up with this service when I learned that some students couldn't get an education after the change of government in Afghanistan. Iran is a neighboring country of Afghanistan, a friend and a local. We decided to offer it free of charge in consideration of the economic situation of Afghanistan. "
Criticism of "suppressing women's rights"
The Islamist Taliban has added its own interpretation of Islamic teachings and has been criticized by the international community as "suppressing women's rights."
Regarding education, Tullivan states that "women's education is within the scope of Islamic teaching," but in reality, in most secondary schools in Japan, girls are ordered to wait at home and go to school. died.
Regarding higher education, the Ministry of Higher Education of the provisional administration has stated that it will not allow co-education at universities, and requested female students to wear scarves that cover their hair.
Also, regarding employment, the influence of the Taliban's rehabilitation has come out, such as the female caster of the national broadcasting being refused to go to work and the female staff being unable to work at many government agencies, and the range of choice of female occupation will be further expanded in the future. I'm worried that I'll be stuck.
In addition, the Taliban expressed the idea of not allowing women to play sports in which they cannot hide their faces and bodies, and recommended that male relatives be accompanied when going out more than 70 kilometers away.
Although some Taliban leadership have shown a flexible attitude towards women's human rights, they have been criticized by the international community as "suppressing women's rights."