Bahara Rustam, 13, took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul on Dec. 11 knowing it was the end of her education. Under Taliban rule, she is unlikely to step foot in a classroom again.
In September 2021, a month after U.S. and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan following two decades of war, the Taliban announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade.
They extended this education ban to universities in December 2022. The Taliban have defied global condemnation and warnings that the restrictions will make it almost impossible for them to gain recognition as the country’s legitimate rulers.
Last week, U.N. special envoy Roza Otunbayeva expressed concern that a generation of Afghan girls is falling behind with each day that passes.
It’s because most of them have failed to integrate and are at the bottom rung of the social ladder. Many speak the local language at a low level, often low educated and have low income. Not to mention many can’t find a girlfriend, they rely on an arranged marriage and have to import a bride. Since even Afghani women in Europe don’t want to be with them. This pushes these guys even further right, like we see with many white guys in the west who are social outcasts.
The only way they think they will ever be at the top of the ladder is to live under an oppressive patriarchal Islamic regime.