While visiting Uruzgan province, acting education minister Noorullah Munir said that people do not want their girls to attend school in the current situation.
According to Munir, schools are closed to students above the sixth grade due to cultural constraints, but he emphasized that if a better environment is created, girls’ schools above the sixth grade will be opened.
“You wouldn’t need to ask me the same question if you ask how many people in this mosque are willing to send their 16-year-old daughter to school. You and I both grew up in the same Afghan society, and the culture is clear to everyone,” the education minister said.
However, some Uruzgan residents stated that they are ready to send their daughters to school if the Islamic Emirate allows them.
They asked the current government to reopen girls’ schools as soon as possible.
“I think that the minister came from Kabul and he cannot represent our people, because he came from Kabul. People in Uruzgan want their daughters to go back to school, and they used to go to school before,” said Javid Khpolwak, civil society activist.
“Those schools which are closed should be reopened as soon as possible because it is the demand of the people,” said Mohammad Wali Samsor, a resident of Uruzgan.
The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, has previously stated that girls’ schools were closed due to religious issues.
