Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the caretaker government, has recently ordered that religious education for women and girls in Afghanistan be halted in religious schools.
Al Arabiya News Agency reported on Wednesday, August 20, that the decision was made during a recent meeting of the current government in Kandahar. According to the report, the Ministries of Education and Higher Education have been instructed to gradually stop the enrollment of girls in religious schools.
The report states that the reason behind this decision is Akhundzada’s concern over the teaching of modern sciences—such as mathematics, natural sciences, and languages—in these schools. He reportedly believes this has led the institutions to carry only the “religious” name without serving their intended purpose.
Al Arabiya’s report comes at a time when many girls, after the closure of regular schools, had turned to religious schools for education.
It is worth noting that since the caretaker government’s return to power in Afghanistan, it has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on women’s fundamental rights and freedoms, depriving them of access to education and employment.
This move has left millions of schoolgirls without education.
In addition, women have been banned from going to gyms, restaurants, public bathhouses, being examined by male doctors, traveling without a male guardian, and working in both domestic and international NGOs as well as UN offices in Afghanistan.
