Afghan girls set up 'secret school' amid Taliban restrictions
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/afghan-girls-set-up-secret-school-amid-taliban-restrictions/a-59588208
Fourteen Afghan girls gather every day in the basement of a building in Kabul to continue their studies. Their teacher is a senior student who teaches them mathematics.
The school is hidden from the outside world — the door and windows are shut so that nobody can see or hear the students.
A whiteboard is placed at the corner of the room, where Nooria (name changed) is teaching her students about logarithms.
After the Taliban overthrew Ashraf Ghani's government and captured the capital, Kabul, they imposed restrictions on girls' education. In some cities, girls are not allowed to attend schools after sixth grade, and in some areas, older girls are not allowed to sit with male students.
The measures are arbitrary but in stark contrast to the Islamists' initial statements that they would respect fundamental human rights.
The Taliban first ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 with an iron fist, barring women from work and imposing restrictions on their mobility. Girls were not allowed to go to schools, and the Taliban fighters flogged women for if they broke the strict Shariah laws imposed by the group.
There have been several protests by women against the new Taliban regime across the country since the Islamists took charge of the government. Women in Afghanistan are persistent in their demands for the right to education, employment and assembly, which have so far been denied by the group.
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