Afghan universities reopen with trickle of women attending

Afghan universities reopen with trickle of women attending

Jalalabad: Afghanistan’s public universities on Wednesday opened for the first time since the Taliban took over the country last year, with female students joining their male counterparts heading back to campus. A Reuters witness in the eastern city of Jalalabad saw female students entering via a separate door at Nangarhar University, one of the large government universities opening this week. Under its previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban had barred women and girls from education. The group says it has changed since resuming power on August 15 as foreign forces withdrew, but has been vague on its plans and high school-aged girls in many provinces have still not been allowed to return to school. Some private universities have reopened, but in many cases female students have not been able to return to class. The international community has made education of girls and women a key part of its demands as the Taliban seek more foreign aid and the unfreezing of overseas assets. The United Nations late on Tuesday praised the inclusion of female students at the country’s public universities, appearing to indicate official confirmation. “[The] UN welcomes the announcement that public universities will begin re-opening 2 February to