Karzai Calls for Reopening of Girls’ Schools

Former president Hamid Karzai in an interview with DW, called for girls’ access to education and said that “we” have to fight for the rights of “our children”.  

“When our daughters reach the age of beyond primary school, they have to go to middle school or secondary school. Leaving the country means abandoning the country. So we have to do all we can. Fight for the right of our children—for our daughters–to be educated,” Karzai said.

Speaking at a press conference to present an annual report, the officials of the Ministry of Education said that the leadership of the Islamic Emirate has yet to reach an agreement on the reopening of girls’ schools.

“There is no official announcement by the leadership of the Islamic Emirate regarding the reopening of schools for female students in grade 7-12,” said Aziz Ahmad Riyan, a spokesman for the MoE.

The officials said that a plan is finalized for the formation of the new education curriculum.

“How can someone fix the damage of the past 20 years in one year?” said Abdul Khaliq Sadiq, deputy Minister of Education.

The officials said that around 200 ghost schools have been identified over the last year.

Based on the available numbers of the MoE, more than 10 million students are attending around17,000 schools.

The closing of schools for girls has sparked national and international reactions.

Last year, in an interview with TOLOnews, the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that the schools for female students would reopen in the next few months. However, female students above grade six have not been allowed to return to their schools.