Taliban May Never Reopen Girls’ Secondary Schools

Taliban May Never Reopen Girls’ Secondary Schools

　　An Afghan education official says the ruling Taliban group might permanently¹ close girls' secondary schools. The official said the Taliban is instead supporting religious schools known as madrasas.

　　The Taliban shut down girls' secondary schools in 2022. The group gave "religious and cultural" concerns as the reasons.

　　"Schools may never be reopened the way they were under the occupation," an official at Afghanistan's Education Ministry² told VOA. The official was referring to 2001 to 2021, when the U.S. military was in the country.

　　The official said there is no major difference between a traditional school and a madrasa. The official did not wish to be named because the Taliban have banned its members from speaking to VOA. The official added that madrasas serve the purpose of education just as well as traditional schools.

　　However, the United Nations and human rights workers worry that madrasas cannot fully³ replace traditional schools. They say madrasas deal too much with religious studies and do not teach enough subjects.

　　U.N. concerns about madrassas

　　U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed this worry in a report to the U.N. Security Council this month. He said the madrasas do not prepare boys or girls well enough for higher education and professional training. Students need "higher-level" education and training "to join an effective workforce⁴ in the future," he added.

　　The U.N. reports there are over 7,000 registered madrasas in Afghanistan with about 380 for girls. Taliban officials have said there are no age limits for girls attending the religious schools.

　　In his report, Guterres noted⁵ that employing new teachers for madrasas has continued. In July 2023, the leader of the Taliban ordered the hiring of 100,000 new madrasa teachers by the end of last year, the report said.

　　Pashtana Dorani is a U.S.-based Afghan women's education activist⁶. She said the Taliban has already replaced traditional schools with religious ones. "They have created their own system," Dorani told VOA.

　　In addition to closing secondary schools for girls, the Taliban has banned women from most jobs. The group also does not permit women entry to some public places like parks and sport centers.

　　Last year, the all-male Taliban cabinet banned women's beauty parlors⁷. Taliban officials say their rules agree with what Afghans want for the future.

　　Last year, education ended for more than 330,000 Afghan girls as they passed grade six exams. Aid agencies said they joined more than 3.7 million girls who are banned from secondary schooling⁸.

　　Experts worry about the long-term effects of the Taliban's education policies. Afghanistan has one of the highest levels of maternal⁹ deaths during childbirth in the world. Experts warn that restricting education will lead to even worse public health problems.

　　The U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, estimates keeping girls out of schools causes $500 million in economic losses for Afghanistan each year.

　　The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until October 2001. After 20 years of war, they returned to power in August 2021.

　　I'm Andrew Smith.

　　Akmal Dawi reported this story for VOA. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

1 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 parlors   

客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店

参考例句：

• It had been a firm specializing in funeral parlors and parking lots. 它曾经是一个专门经营殡仪馆和停车场的公司。
• I walked, my eyes focused into the endless succession of barbershops, beauty parlors, confectioneries. 我走着，眼睛注视着那看不到头的、鳞次栉比的理发店、美容院、糖果店。

8 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

9 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。