In 11th hour decision Taliban hold to ban on girls education

In a surprise decision the hardline leadership of Afghanistans new rulers decided against opening educational institutions to girls beyond Grade 6 a Taliban official said Wednesday on the first day of Afghanistans new school yearThe latest setback for girls education is certain to receive widespread condemnation from the international community that has been urging the Taliban leaders to open schools and give women their right to public spaceThe unexpected decision came late on Tuesday as Afghanistans education ministry prepared for the new year opening of school which was expected to herald the return of girls to school A statement by the ministry earlier in the week urged all students to come to schoolHowever the decision to postpone a return of girls going to school in higher levels appeared to be a concession to the rural and deeply tribal backbone of the hardline Taliban movement that in many parts of the countryside are reluctant to send their daughters to schoolGirls have been banned from school beyond Grade 6 in most of the country since the Taliban returned to power in midAugust Universities opened up earlier this year in much of the country but since taking power the Taliban edicts have been erratic and while a handful of provinces continued to provide education to all most provinces closed educational institutions for girls and womenIn the capital Kabul private schools and universities have operated uninterruptedThe religiouslydriven Taliban administration fears going forward with enrolling girls beyond Grade 6 could erode their base said Waheedullah Hashmi external relations and donor representative with the Talibanled administrationThe leadership hasnt decided when or how they will allow girls to return to school Hashmi said While he accepted that urban centers are mostly supportive of girls education much of rural Afghanistan is opposed particularly in tribal Pashtun regionsIn some rural areas a brother will disown a brother in the city if he finds out that he is letting his daughters go to school said Hashimi who said the Taliban leadership is trying to decide how to open education for girls beyond Grade 6 countrywideMost Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns In their sweep through the country last year other ethnics groups such as Uzbeks and Tajiks in the north of the country either joined the fight to give the Taliban their victory or simply chose not to fightWe did everything the Taliban asked in terms of Islamic dress and they promised that girls could go to school and now they have broken their promise said Mariam Naheebi a local journalist who spoke to the Associated Press in the Afghan capital Naheebi has protested for womens rights and says they have not been honest with usThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever