Twelfth grade ladies, who have been banned from faculty by the Taliban, have been requested to sit down for commencement exams.
Afghan schooling authorities have organised commencement exams for highschool ladies throughout a lot of the nation regardless of most of them being barred from attending courses because the Taliban’s return to energy final 12 months.
The schooling ministry didn’t present particulars of the exams – or what number of pupils have been sitting them – and refused to permit the media close to faculties the place they have been being held on Wednesday.
A doc, signed by Habibullah Agha, the schooling minister who took workplace in September, stated the checks could be held in 31 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The three excluded provinces – Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz – have totally different timetables for the varsity 12 months and high-school commencement exams usually happen later.
“I’m in a really unhealthy state proper now,” stated Sajida, a Twelfth-grade scholar, whereas chatting with Al Jazeera concerning the examination on Wednesday. “We haven’t studied a single guide for it.”
“We’re right here to reply 140 questions with out figuring out something,” she stated.
Most secondary faculties for women have been shut throughout the nation because the Taliban returned to energy in August final 12 months, with the hardliners providing a collection of excuses for the closures.
Ladies’s teams and college students have protested, demanding the lifting of the ban on excessive faculties for women.
Officers have stated there weren’t sufficient lecturers or funds, that they’d reopen as soon as an Islamic curriculum had been ready, or {that a} nationwide coverage on modest faculty apparel first needed to be formulated.
“We’re obeying the hijab rule and since we obey them [Taliban] they need to additionally fulfil our needs,” Zubaida, additionally a grade-12 scholar, instructed Al Jazeera.
“We don’t need a lot. We solely need to examine in our nation as a result of it’s our proper. Half of the inhabitants is girls. We’ve got a proper and they need to give us our proper to prosper,” stated Zubaida.
A Kabul highschool principal stated she was knowledgeable that Twelfth-grade ladies had simply someday to take exams in 14 topics, with 10 questions in every topic.
The principal, who spoke on situation of anonymity for worry of reprisals, stated most woman college students lacked textbooks.
“Giving an examination is meaningless,” she stated.
Women who couldn’t attend or those that fail Wednesday’s examination could be allowed to retake the take a look at in mid-March, after the winter trip.
The ministry introduced the reopening of faculties in March final 12 months, however they have been shut hours in a while the order of Supreme Chief Haibatullah Akhunzada.
Ladies have more and more been squeezed out of public life because the Taliban’s return regardless of their promise of a softer model of the tough rule that characterised their first stint in energy that led to 2001.
Ladies have been pushed out of presidency jobs – or are being paid a pittance to remain at residence – and are additionally barred from travelling with out a male family member, and should cowl up with a burqa or hijab when out of the house.
Final month they have been additionally prohibited from going to parks, funfairs, gyms and public baths.
The Taliban has thus far allowed younger girls to attend college, with courses segregated by intercourse.
There are fears, nevertheless, that with out having the ability to move the varsity leaving examination, there can be only a few girls capable of apply to college.
College students who move the leaving examination are eligible to sit down the “Kankor”, a extremely aggressive take a look at that decides coveted college locations.