Afghan Girls Banned from Education after Sixth Grade
2023-12-28
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1Bahara Rustam is 13 years old. She took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 11 knowing it was the end of her education.
2Under Afghan law, she is unlikely to ever step foot in a classroom again.
3In September 2021, the country's ruling Taliban announced that females would be barred from education after sixth grade, or about age 13.
4The government said it was acting in line with Islamic religious law.
5The United States and NATO troops had withdrawn from Afghanistan a month earlier, after 20 years of war.
6In December 2022, the restrictive measure was expanded to include university education.
7The international community has continued to condemn the Taliban for the actions.
8Countries have warned the Taliban that it its actions will bar it from gaining international recognition as a lawful government.
9Last week, United Nations special diplomat for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva appeared before the UN Security Council.
10She said she worried that a generation of Afghan girls is falling behind with each day that passes.
11An Afghan Education Ministry said last week that girls of all ages are permitted to study in religious schools called madrassas.
12They have traditionally been boys-only.
13The UN is trying to confirm the ministry's statement.
14But Otunbayeva said it was unclear if that education system included wider study of non-religious subjects.
15For now, Bahara is holding onto her education and looks over school books at home.
16"Graduating (from sixth grade) means we are going to seventh grade," she said.
17"But all of our classmates cried and we were very disappointed," she added.
18There was no graduation ceremony for the girls at Bibi Razia School.
19In another part of Kabul, 13-year old Setayesh Sahibzada wonders what the future holds for her.
20She is sad she cannot go to school anymore to follow her dreams.
21"I can't stand on my own two feet," she said.
22"I wanted to be a teacher. But now I can't study, I can't go to school."
23Researcher Muhammad Saleem Paigir warned that banning women and girls from education would be disastrous for Afghanistan.
24"We understand that illiterate people can never be free and prosperous," he said.
25The Taliban have banned women from many public spaces and most jobs, all but keeping women inside their homes.
26I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Bahara Rustam is 13 years old. She took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 11 knowing it was the end of her education. Under Afghan law, she is unlikely to ever step foot in a classroom again. 2In September 2021, the country's ruling Taliban announced that females would be barred from education after sixth grade, or about age 13. The government said it was acting in line with Islamic religious law. 3The United States and NATO troops had withdrawn from Afghanistan a month earlier, after 20 years of war. 4In December 2022, the restrictive measure was expanded to include university education. 5The international community has continued to condemn the Taliban for the actions. Countries have warned the Taliban that it its actions will bar it from gaining international recognition as a lawful government. 6Last week, United Nations special diplomat for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva appeared before the UN Security Council. She said she worried that a generation of Afghan girls is falling behind with each day that passes. 7An Afghan Education Ministry said last week that girls of all ages are permitted to study in religious schools called madrassas. They have traditionally been boys-only. 8The UN is trying to confirm the ministry's statement. But Otunbayeva said it was unclear if that education system included wider study of non-religious subjects. 9For now, Bahara is holding onto her education and looks over school books at home. "Graduating (from sixth grade) means we are going to seventh grade," she said. "But all of our classmates cried and we were very disappointed," she added. 10There was no graduation ceremony for the girls at Bibi Razia School. 11In another part of Kabul, 13-year old Setayesh Sahibzada wonders what the future holds for her. She is sad she cannot go to school anymore to follow her dreams. 12"I can't stand on my own two feet," she said. "I wanted to be a teacher. But now I can't study, I can't go to school." 13Researcher Muhammad Saleem Paigir warned that banning women and girls from education would be disastrous for Afghanistan. "We understand that illiterate people can never be free and prosperous," he said. 14The Taliban have banned women from many public spaces and most jobs, all but keeping women inside their homes. 15I'm Gregory Stachel. 16Mohammad Habib Rahmani reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19graduate - v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university 20disappointed - adj. feeling sad, unhappy, or displeased because something was not as good as expected or because something you hoped for or expected did not happen 21illiterate - adj. not knowing how to read or write 22prosperous - adj. having success usually by making a lot of money