Afghan students return to varsities but with restrictions

Kabul: Kabul University, among Afghanistan’s oldest and most revered institutions of higher education, reopened Saturday six months after the Taliban retook the country. There were new restrictions in place, however, including gender segregation and mandatory Islamic dress. Dozens of female students, all wearing the hijab, the veil worn by Muslim women, lined up outside the university gate.

They were eager to resume classes abruptly cut short in the wake of the Taliban’s August takeover. Taliban stood guard at the campus’s three entrances. Most of the students said they didn’t know what to expect but were surprised to discover they could resume regular coursework and advance in their chosen fields of study. The university largely follows the U.S. liberal arts model.

The music department was the only discipline cancelled for both males and females, returning students told the agency. The Taliban did not respond to requests for comment. Once attended by 22,000 students, the much-anticipated opening was a quiet affair. There were no public announcements from the Taliban government and media requests to enter the premises were denied. A statement on the university’s official Facebook page this week announced that students would return to classes Saturday and that classes would adhere to religious and cultural values.

Like most public universities, Kabul University had closed in the immediate aftermath of the Taliban takeover. The issue of whether women would be able to return without restrictions has been a key concern of the international community. Many feared the Taliban would bar females as happened during the group’s previous rule from 1996-2001.

The Taliban have said they don’t object to education for women but require classes to be segregated and based on Islamic principles as they understand them. Some public universities re-opened earlier this month in the provinces of Lagham, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroz, Farah and Helmand. —AP

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