Taliban Schools Are Failing Boys Too
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The Taliban’s abusive educational policies in Afghanistan have not just harmed women and girls – they also threaten the futures of boys.
Talban authorities have made sweeping changes to education, including dismissing all female teachers in boys’ schools. This has left many boys to be taught by unqualified teachers or sit in classrooms with no teachers at all.
The Taliban have increased the use of corporal punishment in the classroom and regressively altered school curriculum. Some boys and parents that Human Rights Watch spoke to described officials beating boys before the whole school for a haircut, a clothing infraction, or for having a mobile phone.
The Taliban have also eliminated subjects including arts, sports, English, and civic education.
In addition to the sharp decline in the quality of boys’ education, Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crises have placed greater demands on boys to work and support their families, forcing many to leave school altogether. This has all dimmed many boys’ hope for the future.
Afghan boys are also increasingly struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems as services to help are sparse.
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Bans on secondary and higher education for girls and women have rightly grabbed global headlines since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. And while boys are not prohibited from attending school beyond the sixth grade as girls are, Taliban policies are causing irreversible damage to the Afghan education system and creating a lost generation of boys as well as girls.
It’s past time the international community responded to the crisis.
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Analyst/Campaigner/Lobbyst
1 年Biryani and noodles are two completely different dishes with different flavours, so let's just respect that and live in peace. Stop trying to influence Western leaders to intervene in other countries just because they're different. Everyone should be free to live their own way, whether they're rich or poor, educated or uneducated. As long as they're not hurting anyone else, just let them be. Enjoy your noodles, and let others enjoy their biryani. Live and let live!
Analyst/Campaigner/Lobbyst
1 年The way we respect and ask people to respect Western culture and values, we should also understand that every group, like the Taliban, has the same rights. According to Western standards, the Taliban may have failed in education because they may not be teaching about the history of cruel rulers who committed genocide. Additionally, the Taliban may be failing to allow women to dress according to their own preferences. It's important to remember that for many Muslim women, the hijab or niqab is an important part of their cultural and religious identity, and they should be able to wear it freely. Ultimately, respect for cultural traditions and individual autonomy is essential. We can also argue, the way in some aspects Hijab is forced in the same way certain rulings in the western countries are forced because certain rulings are connected with the entire governance to maintain peace. Indeed, any abuse or act of abuse cannot be allowed and Islamic principles stands centrally on it where as western democracy still updating through its judiciary and parliamentary practices.
Former Project Consultant, HIV & AIDS at PT Foundation
1 年Sadly, men and boys have always been the last to be recognised as victims of any crime that reflects their gender. Too much emphasis on particular gender when we talk about gender equality yet we failed to see the glaring truth that we will never achieve gender equality because we segregate gender by looking at it through the eyes of a particular gender of who are the victims and who are the perpetrators.