By Mahsa Elham
Nazia is a grade 12 student in Firozkoh, the capital of Ghor province. Like female students her age, Nazia, 18, wished to graduate from school and continue her studies in the field of her choice at university.
Nazia would have graduated by now if the Taliban had not closed girls’ schools. Now, she’s been away from education for more than a year and is disappointed and hesitant about everything. “I wished to become an attorney,” she says. “My sisters also wanted to become a doctor and teacher, but unfortunately, none of us can achieve our dreams.”
Last March, at the beginning of the academic calendar, Nazia and her sisters, who were in grades 7 and 10 before the Taliban returned, were not allowed to enter the school. “There were two Talibs standing in front of the gate, and they told us girls above grade 6 that we were not allowed to come to school,” Nazia tells Zan Times. They had no choice but to return home.
Nazia cried as she walked back. “This work of the Taliban was unbelievable for me and my family. This is how they disappointed us about the future,” she recounts.
Exclusion from school and despair about their future caused Nazia and her sisters to turn to sleeping pills to maintain their mental stability. “The fear of the unknown future stole our sleep,” she says. “We used to get headaches at night due to our lack of sleep. Finally, we bought sleeping tablets so we can sleep peacefully.”
Social pressures and the effects of those sedatives caused them more mental problems: “It felt like nothing was going right and that hurt our psyche a lot. We were always gloomy. We did not laugh or talk to each other. We were isolated, alone, and disappointed with everything, severely depressed and having suicidal thoughts,” Nazia explains.
Nazia talks about her mental crisis as a crucial examination looms: the academic promotion test. It is scheduled for Wednesday, December 7, according to a letter sent by the Ministry of Education of the Taliban to the education directorates of the provinces. It will be undertaken in all 31 cold provinces of Afghanistan. Zan Times has seen a copy of the letter.
This letter states that the one-day written exam has 140 questions covering all subjects in the school curriculum, with 10 questions from each subject. It will be in both the Pashto and Dari languages. According to the announcement of the Taliban, the results of this one-day test will be reviewed by a three-member board and then announced on December 14.
Nazia was shocked to hear the news of the exam. She’s been away from school for more than a year and is worried. “I have not been able to study for the past year. Now they suddenly announced that we will be examined in all subjects in one day,” she says. “How can I participate in the exam in this situation?”
Nazia considers to be an act of clear malice by the Taliban against Afghan girls. “It shouldn’t have happened like this. We also have the right to education. Just as boys have the right to study, we should have been allowed to study as well,” she complains. For her, closing the schools and then suddenly subjecting girls to a one-day examination is “maliciousness.”
She’s not alone in voicing her anger at the Taliban’s decision. Razia 20-year-old is a student in Qalainou, the capital of Badghis province. This year, she joined a religious school due to her frustration with the closure of girls’ schools. Though she’s been studying theology for five months, she believes she’s not prepared to participate in the annual examination, she tells Zan Times. “This decision of the Taliban is senseless. “How can we take an exam when we didn’t study and couldn’t go to school? What does the academic promotion test mean?,” she asks.
Because of her lack of motivation combined with frustration because of the girls’ education ban, Razia says that it’s no longer important that she participates in this exam and receives a certificate of graduation from high school. Still, she knows that without such educational documents she cannot participate in the entrance exam or pursue higher education.
The mental crisis among female students has increased while educational experts warn of the irreparable social consequences of Taliban restrictions on women. One expert, Asadullah Rostami, warns of disastrous consequences, telling Zan Times, “In the future, there will be no women in key management positions, because just the mere completion of the education process is not enough. It is necessary for girls to benefit from quality education and learning.”
In October, Save the Children reported that Afghanistan’s educational system was on the brink of collapse. “Of the countries assessed, Afghanistan was found to have the highest level of risk, up from fourth place in 2021, meaning its education system has worsened since the Taliban gained control of the country over a year ago, jeopardizing children’s futures, particularly girls,” the international aid organization stated.
