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Afghanistan's School Year Starts Without More Than 1 Million Girls Barred From Education By Taliban

New Age Islam News Bureau

21 March 2024

·         Afghanistan's School Year Starts Without More Than 1 Million Girls Barred From Education By Taliban

·         Iranian-American Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli Celebrates Nowruz After First Space Mission

·         Norouz Tears And Hope: Iranians Defy Regime With Demand For Change

·         Amnesty International Urges Taliban: Stop Excuses, Open Girls’ Schools

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:   https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/girls-education-afghanistan-taliban/d/131971

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Afghanistan's school year starts without more than 1 million girls barred from education by Taliban

 

A girl reads a book in her classroom on the first day of the new school year (AP Photo)

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 Mar 20, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The school year in Afghanistan started Wednesday but without girls whom the Taliban barred from attending classes beyond the sixth grade, making it the only country with restrictions on female education.

The UN children's agency says more than 1 million girls are affected by the ban. It also estimates 5 million were out of school before the Taliban takeover due to a lack of facilities and other reasons.

The Taliban's education ministry marked the start of the new academic year with a ceremony that female journalists were not allowed to attend. The invitations sent out to reporters said: "Due to the lack of a suitable place for the sisters, we apologize to female reporters." During a ceremony, the Taliban's education minister, Habibullah Agha, said that the ministry is trying "to increase the quality of education of religious and modern sciences as much as possible." The Taliban have been prioritizing Islamic knowledge over basic literacy and numeracy with their shift toward madrassas, or religious schools.

The minister also called on students to avoid wearing clothes that contradict Islamic and Afghan principles.

Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban's deputy prime minister, said they were trying to expand education in "all remote areas in the country."

The Taliban previously said girls continuing their education went against their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, and that certain conditions were needed for their return to school. However, they made no progress in creating said conditions.

When they ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, they also banned girls' education.

Despite initially promising a more moderate rule, the group has also barred women from higher education, public spaces like parks, and most jobs as part of harsh measures imposed after they took over following the withdrawal of US and Nato forces from the country in 2021.

The ban on girls' education remains the Taliban's biggest obstacle to gaining recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.

Although Afghan boys have access to education, Human Rights Watch has criticized the Taliban, saying their "abusive" educational policies are harming boys as well as girls. The group, in a report published in December, said there has been less attention to the deep harm inflicted on boys' education as qualified teachers - including women - left, and inclusion of regressive curriculum changes as well as an increase in corporal punishment have led to falling attendance.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/over-1-million-afghan-girls-out-of-school-as-new-school-year-begins-under-taliban-rule/articleshow/108643971.cms?pcode=461

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Iranian-American Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli Celebrates Nowruz After First Space Mission

 

American astronaut of Iranian descent Jasmin Moghbeli

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MARCH 21, 2024

Iranian-American astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli celebrated Nowruz by sharing a photo of the Haftsin table she took to space on her first mission to the space station last year.

She said in an Instagram post, "I brought a Haftseen with me to @iss thinking I might be there for Nowruz. It would have been unique to celebrate the Persian New Year in space, but I am also very happy to be back home in time to celebrate with my family!" Moghbeli led a crew that launched beyond the atmosphere on a Space-X rocket on August 23, 2023, after NASA had scrubbed launch plans a day earlier to resolve unspecified paperwork issues.

The mission is Moghbeli's first trip into space – a dream come true for the US Marines helicopter pilot and 40-year-old mother of twins who always knew she wanted to be an astronaut.

Source: iranwire.com

https://iranwire.com/en/women/126616-iranian-american-astronaut-marks-nowruz-after-first-space-mission/

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Norouz Tears And Hope: Iranians Defy Regime With Demand For Change

March 20, 2024

Iranian opposition figures, dissidents, and families of perished protesters have issued Norouz messages, expressing hope for the end of “the dark age” of the Islamic Republic.

Their defiant statements and widespread criticism of the clerical government stand in contrast to far-fetched claims by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials of having been able to control inflation and make progress on various fronts.

Families of victims commemorated Norouz (Nowruz) by honoring the memory of those killed by security forces, gathering at the graves of their loved ones and issuing messages calling for resistance and perseverance for freedom and justice in Iran.

The mother of Reza MoazamiGoudarzi, one of the victims of the November 2019 protests, wrote on Instagram that she is celebrating Norouz in memory of all the heroes who have sacrificed their lives for freedom during 45 years of Islamic rule. Goudarzi was shot in the back by security forces in November 2019 in Andisheh city, near the capital Tehran, and died at the age of 19 because hospital staff refused to treat him in fear of government reprisal.

Regime’s security forces and vigilante gunmen killed at least 1,500 citizens during a week of anti-government protests in 2019.

The father of Mehrshad Shahidi, another victim of the 2022 protests, released a video saying that he will be at his son's grave on Wednesday with other family members to celebrate Norouz.

The parents of Mahsa Zhina Amini, also took to Instagram to welcome the new year by honoring the memory of their daughter. Her death in the custody of morality police in 2022 sparked the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement and widespread protests in Iran that continue to this day. Taking a metaphorical tone, her parents described spring as "liberation from the tyranny of winter."

Quashing the protests, government forces killed more than 550 people, including 68 children. The mother of Hananeh Kia, one of the victims, wrote in a message how she is longing for her child and expressed hope for "bright days" ahead. Hananeh Kia, 23, was shot and killed by government forces in September 2022, during the first week of the uprising.

MeysamPirfalak, the father of Kian, a 9-year-old boy who became one of the icons of the anti-regime revolt, also released a video message for Norouz. Kian was shot and killed by government forces in November 2022, while he was in the family car with his parents and younger brother on their way back home in Izeh, in southwestern Iran.

In addition to people in Iran, several opposition figures issued Norouz messages almost with a similar theme, wishing an end to the Islamic Republic and the freedom of the country.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi and his mother, the last queen of Iran Farah Pahlavi, in separate messages, emphasized the importance of Iranian unity and solidarity “to overcome darkness.”

Reza Pahlavi described the new year as a year of pragmatism, “a year of rolling up sleeves of determination and putting on boots of resilience; a year of overcoming obstacles and uniting for solutions; a year of advancing from hope to belief; a year of launching a new plan."

He expressed hope that light will prevail over darkness and Iran will regain its past freedom and glory, saying, “For forty-five years, we have been in our long winter night, but today even the guards of Zahhak (a tyrannical king in Iranian mythology and a metaphor for Ali Khamenei) smell the scent of spring. The echo of Iran's footsteps towards liberation has terrified their dark hearts."

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei referred to the plight of recent flood victims in his New Year address but emphasized that "the most tragic of all was the tragedy that occurred in Gaza – an event that holds great importance in our international affairs. We did not experience anything more tragic than that this year.”

Iran-backed Islamist group Hamas invaded Israel on October 7 and killed 1,200 mostly civilians, taking 240 hostages. Israel's ongoing offensive to dismantle Hamas has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties in Gaza.

Many Iranians, however, oppose the regime’s support for Palestinians and other extraterritorial causes, while Iran is becoming poorer and tens of millions suffer as a result.

Despite the dire economic situation, with inflation hovering at 50 percent and the national currency in freefall, Khamenei claimed there was progress in the country. "If growth in domestic production is pursued in a suitable manner, many of the country’s key economic issues, such as inflation, employment, and the value of our national currency, will be solved in a desirable manner," he said.

Khamenei also designated the new Iranian calendar year as the year of "Surge in production through people's participation." He has been designating slogans for each year in the past 35 years, with most of the slogans focusing on economic growth which has hardly materialized. Iranian officials and organizations try to portray their activities as if they are in line with the Khamenei-designated motto. President Ebrahim Raisi delivered a New Year address, boasting that despite projections, the country's inflation rate did not surpass 100 percent.

Source: iranintl.com

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202403204148

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Amnesty International urges Taliban: Stop excuses, open girls’ schools

Fidel Rahmati

 March 21, 2024

The International Amnesty Organization, simultaneous with the start of schools, stated that Afghan girls demand the immediate reopening of all girls’ schools.

The International Amnesty Organization has called for the immediate reopening of girls’ schools in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to refrain from using “empty excuses” to continue the ban on girls’ education.

The organization stated that the Taliban’s reasons for banning girls’ education are “empty excuses for further discrimination in Afghanistan.”

The organization said on its social media platform X on Wednesday that it had surveyed the opinions of Afghan girls on the ban on education beyond the sixth grade. One girl said, “Her dreams are shattered.” Another student told the organization that “she has lost all hope.”

The Taliban has stated that the conditions they envision for reopening schools and universities are not suitable for all girls. Taliban officials, close to three years into their return to power, have remained silent or made ambiguous statements about the reopening the schools and universities for girls.

Critics argue that depriving girls of education is part of the Taliban’s policies to isolate women and severely restrict their rights. They say that the Taliban has imposed “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan.

As the Taliban solidifies its control over Afghanistan, the humanitarian crisis in the country worsens. With infrastructure crumbling and essential services disrupted, millions are at risk of starvation and disease. Humanitarian organizations struggle to provide aid amidst security concerns and logistical challenges.

The ban on girls’ schools since the Taliban takeover has led to a generation of girls deprived of education, perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality.

The denial of education not only stifles individual opportunities but also hampers the nation’s socio-economic development, exacerbating its already dire circumstances. International pressure mounts for the Taliban to reverse its discriminatory policies and ensure equal access to education for all Afghan children.

Source: khaama.com

https://www.khaama.com/amnesty-international-urges-taliban-stop-excuses-open-girls-schools/

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URL:   https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/girls-education-afghanistan-taliban/d/131971

 

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