Afghan Girls Turn to Religious Schools After Ban on Education Beyond 6th Grade: AP

Afghan Girls Turn to Religious Schools After Ban on Education Beyond 6th Grade: AP
———————————–
Three years after the Taliban banned girls from attending secondary and higher education in Afghanistan, many teenage girls are turning to religious madrasas as their only option for learning, Khaama Press reported. These religious schools have become the sole educational refuge for girls who no longer have access to formal schooling.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they have been the only government worldwide to officially prohibit girls from attending secondary schools and universities. In the absence of formal education, religious madrasas have become the primary learning institutions for thousands of Afghan girls. Some, like 25-year-old Faiza, hope that showing dedication to religious studies might eventually allow them to return to formal education.

Zahedur Rahman Sahabi, director of the Tasneem Nusrat Islamic Sciences Center in Kabul, reported that his institution now teaches about 400 students, 90% of whom are females aged between three and sixty. Enrollment has surged since formal schools closed, with students studying the Quran, Islamic jurisprudence, Hadith, and Arabic. While madrasas were popular before, they have now become the main educational lifeline.

Although exact numbers are unavailable, Taliban education official Karamatullah Akhundzada revealed last year that over one million new students enrolled in religious schools within a year, pushing total enrollment beyond three million.

Despite some internal Taliban debates—such as former deputy foreign minister Sher Abbas Stanekzai’s statement that there is “no justification” for banning girls from school—the ban remains in place. UNICEF chief Catherine Russell warned that if the ban continues until 2030, more than four million girls will be permanently denied education beyond primary school.

While some religious scholars advocate for integrating religious and modern sciences, the heavy reliance on madrasas highlights the severe crisis in Afghan girls’ education. For many, madrasas are a last resort rather than a preferred choice.

Experts caution that without urgent action from both international and domestic actors, Afghanistan risks leaving an entire generation of girls behind, with severe long-term impacts on the country’s economy, healthcare, and development.