Taliban Allows Afghan Women To Study, But Classes Are Separated

JAKARTA - Women in Afghanistan are allowed to study in universities as the country tries to bounce back after the war.

But gender segregation and an Islamic dress code will be mandatory, Taliban Higher Education Minister, Abdul Baqi Haqqani, said on Sunday.

Haqqani said the new Taliban government, announced last week, would "start building the country on what it is today" and did not want to go back 20 years when the group was last in power.

He said students would be tutored by female teachers if possible, and classrooms would remain separate from boys, according to Islamic law.

"Alhamdulillah, we have many female teachers. We will not face any problems in this regard. All efforts will be made to find and provide female teachers for the students", he told a news conference quoted by Antara via Reuters.

The issue of women's education is one of the central questions facing the Taliban as they try to convince the world that they have changed.

When they first came to power in Afghanistan in the 1990s, the Taliban imposed strict rules against women from studying or working outside the home.

Taliban officials say women will be allowed to study and work according to local laws and cultural traditions, but strict dress codes will still apply.

Haqqani said wearing the hijab or headscarf would be mandatory for all female students.

A group of black-clad female students, covering head to toe, demonstrated in Kabul on Saturday in support of a dress code and separate classrooms.

Haqqani said if no female teachers were not available, special steps would be taken to ensure there is segregation between men and women.

"If really needed, men can also teach (women) but according to the Shari'a, they must be separated by a curtain", he said.

Classrooms will be partitioned to divide students and students if needed, and teaching can also be conducted via streaming or closed-circuit TV.

Classrooms separated by curtains have been widely seen at universities since the Western-backed government fell and the Taliban seized the capital Kabul last month.

Haqqani said gender segregation would be enforced across Afghanistan and all materials taught in universities would also be reviewed in the coming months.