Afghanistan Crisis: With a ‘Curtain of Separation’, University Classes Resume In The Country

The Taliban on Sunday ordered that the women attending private Afghan universities must wear an abaya robe and niqab covering most of the face and classes must be segregated by sex -- or at least divided by a curtain.

Written by: India.com News Desk Edited by: Victor Dasgupta

Updated: September 6, 2021, 7:46 PM IST

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Afghanistan on Monday resumed the university classes in the country but with a "curtain of separation

New Delhi: Afghanistan on Monday resumed the university classes in the country but with a “curtain of separation”. In the photos posted by Aamaj News (local news agency), male and female students can be seen sitting in a classroom with curtains between them.

To recall, the Taliban had earlier outlined the education policy through their diktat. “Female students should study with a hijab,” Taliban had said in many interviews adding that they have no issue with women education.

در تصویر: دروس دانشگاه با پرده جدایی آغاز شد #آماج_نیوز pic.twitter.com/2we0oqRnbS

— Aamaj News (@AamajN) September 6, 2021

The Taliban on Sunday ordered that the women attending private Afghan universities must wear an abaya robe and niqab covering most of the face and classes must be segregated by sex — or at least divided by a curtain.

According to a AFP report, the Taliban’s education authority also ordered that female students should only be taught by other women, but if that was not possible then “old men” of good character could fill in.

The decree applies to private colleges and universities, which have mushroomed since the Taliban’s first rule ended in 2001. During that period, girls and women were mostly excluded from education because of rules regarding same-sex classrooms and the insistence they had to be accompanied by a male relative whenever they left the house.

There was no order for women to wear the all-enveloping burqa in the new regulations issued late Saturday, but the niqab effectively covers most of the face anyway, leaving just the eyes exposed. In recent years burqas and niqabs have largely vanished from the streets of Kabul, but are seen more frequently in smaller cities and towns.