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Education in Afghanistan since 2001: Evolutions

and Rollbacks
Easar, Farhat; Azizi, Hadia; Rahmani, Khudaynazar; Moradi, Mujtaba; Taieb,
Rajab; Faqiryar, Wasal Naser

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Easar, F., Azizi, H., Rahmani, K., Moradi, M., Taieb, R., & Faqiryar, W. N. (2023). Education in Afghanistan since 2001:
Evolutions and Rollbacks. (Research Series of Rumi Organization for Research, 1). Rumi Organization for Research.
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 2023 Research Series of Rumi Organization for Research

Education in Afghanistan since 2001: Evolutions and Rollbacks

Co-authors: Farhat Easar1, Hadia Azizi2, Khudaynazar Rahmani3, Mujtaba Moradi4, Rajab Taieb5 and Wasal Naser Faqiryar6

Editor: Wasal Naser Faqiryar

Reviewed by: Dr. Pál Dunay and Dr. Daniel Leitch

Published by: Rumi Organization for Research on March 2, 2023.

Funding: This research project was carried out without receiving any funds.

Permanent URL: https://rumi.academy/10101010101.pdf

To Cite:

Easar, Farhat, Hadia Azizi, Khudaynazar Rahmani, Mujtaba Moradi, and Wasal Naser Faqiryar. 2023. “Education in
Afghanistan since 2001: Evolutions and Rollbacks.” 2023 Research Series of Rumi Organization for Research 1 (1): 46.
https://rumi.academy/10101010101.pdf.

Rumi Organization for Research is a non-governmental, non-political, and not-for-profit research organization that produces unbiased,
nuanced, high-quality research and analysis. Its principal mission and objective are to conduct academic and professional research on
various topics, including sociopolitical, economic, cultural, and climatic challenges in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ABSTRACT

The post-Bonn government of Afghanistan shifted the violence curriculum of the Taliban into a peace curriculum in
education. This study's mixed-method approach shows that despite facing security, corruption, resource, and cultural
barriers to education, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan made significant progress both in terms of passing
theoretical documents and practical achievements. The efforts that had been initiated and introduced began to
encounter fragility following the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Banning girls from education above grade six has
resulted in negative psychological and emotional effects on them. Continuing to limit academic freedom has started
to hit the Afghan society. Ultimately, Taliban-led approaches to curriculum design prepare the way for close-
mindedness and neo-Taliban nation-building. Those would convey state ideology and justifications from the
classrooms to the homes. The socio-economic consequences of depriving large strata of the population, including
though not exclusively, women from qualitative education makes it impossible for Afghanistan to break out of its
status as a country of low level of development.

1
Independent Researcher - [email protected]
2
Chevening Scholar - [email protected]
3
Fellow at East-West Center - [email protected]
4
Independent Researcher - [email protected]
5
Research Fellow at Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) - [email protected]
6
Co-founder of Rumi Organization for Research - [email protected]
 Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Methodology................................................................................................................................................. 2
An overview of 'formal' and 'informal' education in Afghanistan ................................................................ 4
Education Reform During the Republic (2001-2021): Progresses vs. Obstructs .......................................... 7
An Overview of Progresses in Education (2001-2021).............................................................................. 7
An Overview of Obtructs in Education (2001-2021) ............................................................................... 11
Cultural barriers [ to education ] ........................................................................................................ 12
Resource barriers [ to education ] ...................................................................................................... 12
Security barriers [ to education ] ........................................................................................................ 12
Corruption barriers [ to education ].................................................................................................... 13
Education of women and girls in Afghanistan since the Taliban's return to power ................................... 14
A Statistic of the Ban on Girls' Schooling for 12th Graders in 2022 and Secondary Education in 2023 . 15
The Impact of the Taliban's Regained Control on the Education Sector and, With It, the Overall Society
................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Taliban-led Curriculum Modification in Afghanistan; Examining the Impact on Close-Mindedness and the
Emergence of Neo-Taliban Nation-Building ............................................................................................... 28
Neo-Taliban nation-building ................................................................................................................... 36
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 39
Literature .................................................................................................................................................... 40

i
Introduction
Afghanistan has a long-standing and ample history of educated and intellectual figures throughout its
modern history. However, as a result of fluctuating Islamatization and de-Islamatization educational
policies after the establishment of the modern Afghan nation-state, the questions of who should receive
education, what kind of education should be provided, why education is necessary, and where it should
be obtained, have become prevalent in the social discourse. With that in its modern history, Afghanistan
has been dragged into several stages of education progresses and reverses. The not-so-recent
intervention of the United States and its allies in 2001 paused the dark era of institutionalizing and the
inculcation of violent and hate-filled educational material being fed to Afghan children as a result of the
political clash of West versus Soviet. After the intervention, the educational system underwent significant
changes as the new democratic government sought to bring an end to the spread of violence and hatred
through education. This effort was short-lived, however, as the Taliban regained power on August 15,
2021, and once again imposed restrictive measures on the education sector. The question of the trajectory
of education in Afghanistan post-2001 and the impact of the Taliban's second rule on education remains
a topic of ongoing discussion and debate.

With the current regressions in Afghanistan's educational system during the second administration of the
Taliban, there was a pressing need to research the present situation of education in the nation and
unearth new information or analysis. This study's originality comes in its comprehensive approach to
examining the different facets of education in Afghanistan during the Islamic Republic and its ability to
add new information to the subject within the second rule of the Taliban. A study of education in the
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan after its collapse has not yet been conducted. Also, this study was done
to investigate the Taliban's plan to alter the curriculum during their second administration and the
repercussions of doing so for the Afghan nation-building and Afghan generations. Therefore, this study
will also give vital insights into what a Taliban-led curriculum would look like and its consequences.

By examining four key topics, this research paper seeks to explore and understand the trajectory of
education in post-2001 Afghanistan to present. The first topic as a background provides an overview of
the formal and informal educational institutions in Afghanistan. The second topic examines educational
progress and challenges under the post-Bonn interim government and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
until the putsch. The third topic focuses on the education of women and girls under the Taliban's second
rule and the consequences of the Taliban's restrictive educational policies. This topic encompasses
statistics of the 12th graders of 2022, plus the entire cohort of the 2023 secondary school girls who are
deprived of education. The last topic examines close-mindedness and the emergence of neo-Taliban
nation-building by contemplating the Taliban's ambition of Islamatizing school curriculum.

1
Methodology
The methodology employed in this study is a mixed-method approach with a dominant focus on
qualitative analysis. This approach was chosen to comprehensively examine the various aspects of
education in Afghanistan, including the perspectives of different stakeholders, educational policies, and
the content of textbooks. In order to collect the required information for this research, nine interviews
were carried out, consisting of eight anonymous interviews with a school superintendent, teachers, and
students, as well as one non-anonymous interview with the Chief Technology Officer of Noon Digital
Education. Moreover, two anonymous interviews were conducted with experts. These interviews aimed
to gain a deeper understanding of the current and former state of education in the country, the challenges
faced by educators and students, and the stories and experiences of students and preceptors (Tulley
1985).

Educational policies were also reviewed as part of this study, including the National Education Strategic
Plan (NESP) I, NESP II, NESP III, and the Higher National Education Strategic Plan (HNESP) I, as well as the
National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA)’s Afghanistan Statistical Yearbook 2020. These
documents provided a comprehensive overview of the national policies and goals for education in
Afghanistan, as well as the progress made towards these goals with statistics. Another crucial aspect of
this study was a minor analysis of the content of textbooks used in the Afghan education system. Articles
and news reports were also reviewed as part of this study, providing a broader understanding of the
current state of education in Afghanistan and the challenges faced by educators and students. This
information was used to complement and provide additional context to the findings of the interviews and
policy reviews. The data collected through the interviews, textbook analysis, and review of articles and
news reports were analyzed using qualitative methods, including thematic analysis and discourse analysis.
The aim of this analysis was to identify patterns and themes in the data and to gain a deeper
understanding of the current state of education in Afghanistan and its future prospects (Beerwinkle et al.
2018; Wasburn 1997).

In order to assess the impact of the Taliban's ban on girls' education in Afghanistan and determine the
number of girls who were banned from attending 12th grade in 2022 and the total number of females
prohibited from pursuing secondary education in 2023, a quantitative analysis of data obtained from the
Ministry of Education was conducted. The data for this aspect of the research was sourced from the 34
Provincial Profiles for the year 2019, which corresponds to the Hijri-Shamsi calendar year 1397. The data
was adjusted to reflect the number of affected students accurately. The total number of female students
was calculated for each grade across all provinces of Afghanistan, and both urban and rural areas of Kabul
city. It is important to note that the data report is from the year 2019/1397, which reflects the number of
students enrolled in grades one to twelve during that year. As a result, students above the 9th grade have
already completed their schooling by 2022. However, students from the 2nd grade to the 8th grade in
2019/1397 are now in 6th grade to 12th grade, respectively, and have been banned from attending school.
Through this methodology, the total number of girls affected was presented in a provincial and regional
context through the use of charts. While the data used in this paper may differ slightly from that of
international organizations, it is believed to be more accurate as it was gathered directly from each and

2
every school across the country by the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan. Despite these limitations,
this paper sheds light on the number of girls affected by the Taliban ban.

Chart representing the grades impacted by the ban

Grade 1397/2019 Grade 1401-2/2023

G2 G6

G3 G7

G4 G8

G5 G9

G6 G10

G7 G11

G8 G12

G9 1400/2022

G10 1399/2021

G11 1398/2020

G12 1397/2019

3
An overview of 'formal' and 'informal' education in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has had a long history of cultural richness and education in the past centuries. However, the
modern educational system of the country is not that old. Sitting at the crossroads between Central Asia,
South Asia, and the Middle East, its geostrategic location has kept it at war since the 19th century. Great
Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations (NATO) have been
the key international actors involved in wars in Afghanistan. As a result, the country has never experienced
linear progress, including its education sector. In some periods, there had been progresses, but the
political cessations, regime changes, and conflicts have slowed down, halted, and even reversed progress
from time to time.

Afghanistan’s education system can be divided into two broad categories: informal (traditional or non-
state education system) and formal (modern or state-run education system). The informal system includes
the provision of education at home1, in mosques2 and madrasas, and the instructors are the religious
scholars and clerics (Yazdani 2020). In the past centuries, when Afghanistan had no formal education
system, madrasas, and mosques, in addition to religious education, had also provided students with the
opportunity to learn creative writing, literature, history, philosophy, and ethics (Samady 2001b). However,
teaching these subjects had not been common, and madrasas’ education was and is extensively about
Islam. This informal system was practiced widely prior to the establishment of the formal system and it
was the only medium of education in the country. Between the 10th to 15th centuries, madrasas, as the
country's main educational institutions, contributed to Afghanistan's cultural richness (Blumör 2014). Yet,
this informal system is still functioning across the country.

In the past, mosques and madrasas were solely public institutions. However, several religious scholars
have established their own (private) madrasas in recent decades, and the number has been growing.
Owners of many private madrasas are religious scholars who study higher religious education outside
Afghanistan, mainly in Pakistan and Iran. Upon their return, they establish their own madrasas
(Borchgrevink and Harpviken 2010). The cross-border relations between Afghanistan religious figures and
scholars of near and far Islamic countries have embedded Afghanistan madrasas into a transnational
network of madrasas stretching from Pakistan to Iran, some Arab countries as well as Egypt, with some
of these countries supporting Afghanistan madrasas in terms of book donations, funds and training
religious instructors (Borchgrevink and Harpviken 2010). In the past, the students of madrasas in
Afghanistan were predominantly boys and men. However, girls to puberty also attended madrasas under

1
Referred to Fiq-he Khanagi for girls (In some cases, it was also common for women to learn how to read the Quran or gain basic
reading skills from a female instructor at her home. Often, these instructors were the daughters of religious clerks or intellectuals.)
2
Madrasas do not adhere to a uniform curriculum. There is no standard curriculum for madrasas across the country. Students
are taught from various Islamic books and materials, which could differ from one madrasa to another, particularly between Shia
and Sunni madrasas, and even from region to region or province to province. In a mosque of Herat city, for example, students
typically begin by learning the alphabet and phonetic instructions, which are often printed before the start of the sole 30th
chapter of the Quran. They then progress to studying the Quran itself, followed by other texts such as Panj Ketab, The Divān of
Hafez, Qudri, and Shurt-al Salat, respectively.

4
a system of ‘co-education3’ in mosques to learn Quran and basic reading skills4. Nowadays, however,
women attend madrasas, especially private ones, in urban areas under a certain age.

The formal or modern education system dates back to the 19th century. The first civil school was
established during the reign of Amir Sher Ali Khan (1860-1878) in Kabul. The students came from high-
ranking government officials’ families (Yazdani 2020). After Sher Ali Khan’s reign, his successors’ attempts
to consolidate their power bases drew attention away from the education sector (Javid 2012). Years later,
formal education again received attention, and the first secondary school, Habibia High School, was
established in 1903 in Kabul (Samady 2001b). However, during this period, only boys from well-known
families and government officials were attending schools, while girls were not able to attend. The first
girls’ school was established during Amanullah Khan’s government (1919-1929), and he also established
the Ministry of Education (MoE) (Samady 2001b).

Amanullah Khan pushed for further reform and introduced a western-oriented system of education.
Between 1919 to 1929, male and female students were sent abroad for higher education, and the girls’
students inside Afghanistan, only in big cities, followed the new dress code introduced by the government,
which did not correspond to the traditional clothing of women in Afghanistan. The religiously conservative
groups opposed Amanullah’s efforts for the emancipation of women and educational reforms.
Resistance was formed against him, and he finally fled the country in 1929 (Doorandesh 2019). After he
fled, education faced another downfall under the reign of Habibullah Kalakani for around eight months.
From 1930 onward under the reign of Nadir Shah, and during the monarchy of Zahir Shah for around 40
years, educational development gained momentum: the constitutions promulgated in 1931, 1948 and
1964 made primary education compulsory and declared education as the right of the every country
citizen.

After the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of the first republic by Mohammad Daud (1973-
1978), a new constitution was adopted, providing free general secondary, vocational and higher education
as a fundamental goal. Daud was later assassinated, and the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan
(PDPA), a communist party supported by the Soviet Union, took power (1979-1992). PDPA established the
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), changed the educational policies of the previous regimes, and
adopted a secular approach to education influenced by communist ideology (Sarvarzade and Wotipka
2017). In this era, education became gender-inclusive, and more girls attended schools. However, the
reform, which also included reform in the dress code, sparked criticism from conservative religious groups,
which contributed to a 10-years war, ultimately leading to the collapse of the last communist government
in 1992.

After the collapse of the communist government, the Mujahideen groups who had fought the Soviet
troops and PDPA established their government named the Islamic State of Afghanistan. Although it could
not develop its own national education policy, the materials that reflected communist ideology were
removed, and instead, religious education became the new center of gravity (Sarvarzade and Wotipka

3
The boys and girls were arranged in rows facing each other or in a different configuration, but they were not seated beside each
other.
4
Participation observation of a male interviewee from Herat, Afghanistan in a recall of memories of a mosque during the first
rule of Taliban narrated in the interview, online, 03/01/2023.

5
2017). After the fall of Mujahideen in 1996, the Taliban established their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
(1996-2001). They pushed religious education further, banned girls from education, and banned textbooks
which according to them, were against Islamic principles. Kabul University (established in 1932 and paved
the way for a new generation of leaders), the country's top institution of higher education, was turned
into a military base and lecture theaters, labs, libraries, and the research culture were destroyed.
Internecine warfare and the strict Taliban regime took a heavy toll on higher education institutions, staff,
and students, and what was not destroyed was looted and sold (Welch and Wahidyar 2020). Taliban’s first
rule marked the darkest period for education in modern Afghanistan.

After the fall of the Taliban’s first reign in 2001, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2001-2021)
extensively focused on education with tremendous support from the international community. The
republican system reformed education in a bid to modernize it. A new moderate curriculum was adopted
with new textbooks printed which extensively embraced liberal norms and Islam. In this era, considerable
gains were made, especially in terms of female education. In this period, an increasing number of private
schools, colleges and universities were established around the country.

Following the overthrow of the republic government by the Taliban on August 15, 2021, leading to their
second rule, the education sector has been experiencing another downfall. Therefore, a glance at the
education sector in Afghanistan shows that it has never followed a linear progress but a cyclic one with
ups and downs, with both women and girls, as well as men, have been among the victims of these
fluctuations. The quick and violent regime changes, usually with radically contradicting ideologies, has
politicized education over the past several decades. Violent collapses of political administrations led to
radical changes in education curriculums because the different regimes affiliated with different ideologies
have always attempted to promote their ideals through education.

6
Education Reform During the Republic (2001-2021): Progresses vs.
Obstructs
Education reform can refer to a range of initiatives aimed at improving, altering, or modernizing the
education system while holding various objectives. By definition, it often involves “a move towards
student-centered learning and a student-centered classroom," with the objective of preparing learners
for the demands of the evolving 21st century economy (Sitti, Sopeerak, and Sompong 2013, 316).
Additionally, education reform is sometimes driven by the need for governments to address social and
economic issues (Allmnakrah and Evers 2019). In some cases, education reform is focused on “curbing
radical and militant extremism,” as was the case in Afghanistan after the Taliban 1.05 regime was
overthrown (Davies 2016, 10). This involved changes in policy, practice, and organization to improve
Afghanistan's education system. After 2001, there was a significant influx of support both financially and
strategically aimed at restoring and rebuilding the Afghan state, including in the area of education. Afghan
Transitional Administration (interim government following the Bonn Agreement) and the Islamic Republic
of Afghanistan, supported by the international community and international organizations, kickstarted
substantial progress in education, both in terms of quantity and quality. The post-Bonn government in
Afghanistan considered taking the necessary steps to transform the violent curriculum into a peaceful one
as a form of education reform. For instance, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) "Back-to-School
Campaign" in 2001 was introduced, which was a major contributor to the education system in Afghanistan
and resulted in 200% more schools being built and 500% more teachers being hired compared to two
years prior. Additionally, enrolment rates, which had declined from 32% to 6.4% during the Taliban's initial
takeover of Afghanistan, saw a significant increase in 2004 (Acks, Baughman, and Diabo 2015). Although
commendable efforts were made, there were still areas that needed additional attention and support to
fully achieve education reform.

An Overview of Progresses in Education (2001-2021)

The first curriculum of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was approved in 2004. It was not a
comprehensive education curriculum but was focused on responding to the immediate needs of schools,
particularly compiling textbooks and hiring and training teachers. This curriculum was extensively on
primary education. The first National Education Strategic Plan (NESP I) was adopted in 2006, in which the
fundamental education goals and milestones were laid out. NESP I was, in fact, the first comprehensive
national education plan that laid the cornerstone for the new modernized curriculum, including the
compilation and publication of new textbooks for public schools, Islamic Education and vocational
education, hiring and training teachers, building schools, and inaugurating specific branches within the
Ministry of Education for revision of curriculum.

Textbooks for primary school, grade 1-6, was published in 2007 based on the 2004 curriculum. This
curriculum was a temporary response to the immediate needs. Based on the national plan in NESP I
adopted in 2006, the Ministry of Education started its efforts in compiling textbooks for secondary
education (grades 7-9) in 2008. After two years, the new textbooks were compiled and printed in 2010.

5
Referring to the first rule of the Taliban over Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

7
The textbooks were distributed in schools in 2011. Again, based on NESP I, new textbooks for high school
(grades 10-12) were printed in 2011 and distributed in 2012. This was the first batch of textbooks printed
based on a modernized curriculum. And afterwards, the curriculum development and textbook revision
became an ongoing process, and the latest textbooks were published as late as 2020.

Aside from the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS), the
Afghan Millennium Development Goals (AMDG), the National Education Strategic Plans (NESP I, NESP II,
NESP III), Education for All (EFA), and Education Law (EL) are some of the most important strategic
documents that guided educational reforms including development of a new curriculum and textbooks
and teacher training, and initiation of Islamic Education as a new programme, and expansion of Vocational
Education. The overarching goals of the ministry of education in terms of curriculum and education
development, textbooks production, teacher training, and Islamic Education are defined in these
documents, with the following objectives:

1. Imposing compulsory education up to 9th grade and offering free education until completion of
a bachelor's degree (in public educational institutions) (Constitution of Afghanistan 2004).
2. Providing all children with equal access to quality education, equipping them with the necessary
skills and qualifications for personal, familial, and societal success, as well as higher education
opportunities.
3. Supplying students with up-to-date textbooks and educational materials that align with Islamic
values and national principles and meet the demands of the society.
4. Offering both males and females relevant and high-quality technical and vocational education and
training, preparing them for the job market in Afghanistan and the region.
5. Providing older adults of both genders, who are fifty and above, with the opportunity to improve
their literacy and participate in their community.
6. Ensuring all students, teachers, and staff have a safe, supportive, and appropriate learning and
work environment through the balanced development of educational infrastructure throughout
the country.
7. Improving and expanding early childhood education and care.
8. Guaranteeing free and high-quality primary education for all children.
9. Promoting gender equality.
10. Increasing adult literacy.
11. Enhancing the overall quality of education and making it accessible to all children and adults.
12. Printing books in different languages of Afghanistan.
13. Emphasizing the importance of evaluation and monitoring in ensuring the success of the
education reform efforts.
14. Implementing effective and transparent management in the education system (NESP I 2006; NESP
II 2010; NESP III 2017).

According to the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan, there have been significant improvements made in
the education system between 2002 and 2015 in seven key areas.

8
 1. The student population had grown to seven million, with 37% of them being girls.
2. The number of teachers had risen to 170,000, with 30% being female.
3. The number of training centers had increased from 4 to 42.
4. The number of technical and vocational schools had grown to 60, with 200,000 students enrolled,
including 30% who were female.
5. Over 480 registered madrasas had been established.
6. 673 previously closed schools had reopened (Acks, Baughman, and Diabo 2015)

In another narration, according to the 2020 Annual Progress Report from Afghanistan's Ministry of
Education, approximately ten million children were enrolled in school in 2020, a tenfold increase since
2001. About 40% of these students were girls. The highest growth was observed in primary education.
The number of schools and teachers has also seen a significant increase, with the number of schools rising
from 6,000 in 2001 to nearly 18,000 in 2018 and the number of teachers increasing from 27,000 in 2003
to almost 226,000 in 2020, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (Wang 2021). Also, co-
education was amplified in primary public schools of a few provinces and in some private schools in Kabul,
both for primary and secondary students, until the collapse of the Islamic Republic to the Taliban.
McGraw-Hill Education, among other foreign educational curricula, started to get implemented in private
international schools in Kabul during the Islamic Republic.

With regard to higher education, the Ministry of Higher Education in Afghanistan initiated a program for
staff development, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in 2002 as means of education reform. In addition
to the significant toll on lives lost during the conflict that raged in Afghanistan from nearly three decades
until 2001, one of the major challenges was a high rate of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental
health issues that affected more than half of the student body (Hayward and Babury 2015). With the
assistance of UNESCO-IIEP, a strategic development plan was created and published in 2005. By 2009, the
most severe damage to educational institutions had been sufficiently repaired, making it possible to
prepare for rehabilitation and transformation (Hayward and Babury 2015). Given that studying is free to
all students who qualify and because public universities are seen as the truly prominent academic
institutions in Afghan society, public universities had continued to dominate higher education in
Afghanistan and remained the first option for all qualifying students (Berger and Thoma 2015).

The Ministry then finalized the National Higher Education Strategic Plan for 2010-2014 in 2009. The plan
aimed to:

1. Educate and train skilled graduates to meet the socio-economic development needs of
Afghanistan, enhance teaching, research, and learning, and encourage service to the community
and nation.
2. Lead and manage a coordinated system of higher education comprising universities, institutes,
and community colleges dedicated to providing high-quality tertiary education.
3. Shift towards greater independence for public higher education institutions, moving away from a
centralized system (Samady 2013; Berger and Thoma 2015).

9
In 2012, the World Bank made research funds accessible to faculty members for the first time in decades
(Hayward and Babury 2015). By 2014, the higher education curriculum had undergone a comprehensive
evaluation and upgrade process. For the first time ever, over half of the curriculum at public higher
education institutions was evaluated, updated, and improved (Hayward and Babury 2015). By 2018, it was
deemed that there were enough higher education institutions, and the emphasis moved to raise the
quality of education (Welch and Wahidyar 2020; Hayward and Babury 2015). Additionally, the
collaboration between Afghan universities and universities from the US and Europe has played a major
role in improving the quality of higher education. This partnership has supported training and research,
introduced new technologies, and contributed to the development of curriculum and teaching materials,
with a focus on scientific and technological fields (Samady 2013).

The Ministry of Higher Education in Afghanistan has undertaken several measures, albeit modest ones, to
improve the quality of higher education and address barriers to female student enrollment. To address
the shortage of safe and adequate housing, the Ministry initiated the construction of three women's
dormitories. Such efforts were vital since, many Afghan women pursue higher education for a variety of
reasons, including their desire for independence, the significance of finishing their education to
compensate for the sacrifices made by their families, the need to demonstrate that women can succeed
in education and the workplace, a desire to learn about women's rights, and an effort to increase their
employment prospects (Burridge, Maree Payne, and Rahmani 2016). Additionally, the ministry
established accreditation, invested in teacher development, revised and upgraded curricula, and ensured
to an extent that hiring and promotion are based on merit, among other measures. As one of the largest
employers in the Afghan government, the education sector plays a crucial role in the development of the
country. However, the sector still had faced challenges, including inadequate funding, corruption, and
political interference (Hayward and Babury 2015). Also, the Ministry of Higher Education faced challenges
in enforcing standards in the private sector, which was largely unregulated and underdeveloped due to
the lack of political and financial resources at its disposal (Berger and Thoma 2015).

As of 2020, Afghanistan had 167 public and private universities and higher education institutions, with 39
of these being public and 128 being private. In the same year, the student population was 429,790, with
the majority being male (71.01%) and a smaller portion being female (28.99%). In 2020, the total number
of students enrolled in public institutions was 205,480, and among these, Kabul University had the highest
enrollment, with 23,722 students. (National Statistics and Information Authority 2021). In 2021, the
number of private educational institutes in Afghanistan increased to 129 after one more institute
registered with the Ministry of Higher Education (Akhtar and Ranjan 2021). So, between 2001 and 2021,
the higher education system in Afghanistan underwent significant improvement, including the following
developments:
1. Establishment of numerous public and private universities and higher education institutions with
co-education.
2. A significant increase in the number of students enrolled in higher education.
3. Opportunities for university lecturers to receive training and scholarships.
4. Reform of the university entrance examination, also known as the Kankor exam.
5. Improvements were made to the physical infrastructure of selected Afghan universities.

10
 6. A noticeable growth in the number of faculties in both public and private universities (Baha n.d.).

An Overview of Obtructs in Education (2001-2021)

In the early years, the Ministry of Education was facing multiple challenges, mainly a lack of professional
teachers, textbooks, classrooms, and Teacher Training Colleges (TTC). The lack of teachers who could meet
the qualification requirements was one of the key problems. The criteria set for teachers by the ministry
was that TTC graduates could teach for four years (grade one to four), and graduates of universities
(bachelor) could teach for eight years (grade five to twelve) (NESP I 2006). Based on the ministry’s
statistics, in late 2001, there were only 21,000 teachers, and this number increased to 140,000 in 2005,
with 29% of them having completed fewer than 12 years of education, 49% were graduates of high school
(12th grade), and the remaining 22% met the minimum requirement most of whom were graduates of
TTCs in the past decades. Of this number, only 28% were female, predominantly located in urban areas
(NESP I 2006). To address the problem, the ministry launched a two-year pre-service and in-service
teacher training to enhance the teachers’ capacity. The ministry also committed to establishing one
Teacher Resource Center (TRC) in each of the 364 districts by 2010, training 2,184 teacher educators for
the TRCs, building 34 TTCs, one in each of the 34 provinces by 2007 with dormitories for males and
females, and increase the number of female teachers for primary and secondary school to 50% by 2010
(NESP I 2006). TRCs were designed for pre and in-service training for teachers.

Furthermore, schools started facing various challenges during the Islamic Republic such as inadequate
construction, bribery for securing school admission, good exam results, or obtaining certificates. During
the time of the Islamic Republic, the funding allocated for schools was also misused by the principals who
diverted it for their personal gain, and teachers were often forced to pay third-party individuals with
connections to the principals in exchange for preparation of the "Jadwale Natayej" result charts6.
Teachers also encountered obstacles such as demanded bribes or mistreatment in order to transfer from
one school to another by ministry staff or principals and being forced by principals to teach subjects
outside of their field of expertise7. Furthermore, the lack of proper drinking water facilities and equipped
toilets as well as the absence of places for physiological, health, and hygiene advice and equipment in
schools, particularly in a war-torn country, added to the challenges faced by students and teachers alike8.

Besides, several significant barriers prevented Afghans, especially girls, from accessing education,
including physical, geographical, and financial obstacles, harassment and abuse, a lack of support from
their families, and early marriage during the Islamic Republic9. In addition, several other factors contribute
to the barriers to education in Afghanistan. Some of these include:

6
Interview with high school teachers, Herat, Afghanistan, December 05, 2022.
7
Interview with a high school teacher, Kabul, Afghanistan, July 03, 2021.
8
Interview with multiple teachers from Herat and Kabul, 2021.
9
Interview with students and teachers from Herat and Kabul, February 2023.

11
Cultural barriers [ to education ]

The war in Afghanistan has caused the loss of many primary breadwinners, leaving families without their
main source of income. According to cultural traditions, the eldest brother is expected to take care of the
family if the father is absent, which often leads to many adults giving up their education to support their
families. Many young children were deprived of the opportunity to focus on their education as they were
forced to work in shops and other forms of employment with their fathers and brothers due to the severe
economic circumstances of their families. Additionally, it is a cultural norm for families to allocate more
financial resources towards the education of boys rather than girls, as it is believed that the boys will
remain with their parents after marriage, whereas the girls will leave home.

In another narrative, scholars argue that the cultural barrier of "Pashtunwali10," an unwritten tribal code
among the Pashtun community in the south and southeastern regions of Afghanistan, had posed a
hindrance to the education of female members, besides rigid religious interpretations. Despite the
persistence of cultural barriers in Afghanistan vis-à-vis education, opinions among residents varied. Non-
Pashtun respondents were found to have viewed cultural obstacles as less of a hindrance to women's
education, as their social code was less rigid, and they held a more enlightened understanding of women's
independence and rights. On the other hand, the Pashtun community was observed to have a far more
rigid cultural dynamic (Inayatullah 2022; Jamal 2014). To avoid any biased perspectives on the topic of
female education and the "Pashtunwali" guidelines, it would be essential to take an ethnographic
approach to comprehending the cultural norms and practices of this system.

Resource barriers [ to education ]

A shortage of human and material resources, particularly in regard to the availability of public schools and
teachers in them, is a contributing factor to the decreased enrollment of girls in schools. The proximity of
schools to women's homes had a direct impact on their educational opportunities. Higher enrollment
rates were observed in schools that were located closer to the homes of female students. Living away
from one's community increases the risk of gender-based violence, hindering women's motivation for
further education. The issue of safe travel distance also presented a barrier to women's education (Center
for Strategic and Regional Studies 2020a).

Security barriers [ to education ]

The instability in Afghanistan has severely impacted its education system, with armed insurgent attacks
and widespread fear causing many parents to hesitate to send their children to school (NESP I 2006). The
re-emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2005 posed a significant threat to the
development of education in the country, particularly in rural areas (EFSAS 2022). As an insurgent group
opposing the government, the Taliban directed hostilities towards schools, objecting to the curriculum

10
So-called “the ethical principles and social norms followed by the Pashtun community.”

12
being taught and accusing education personnel of being agents of foreign influence. Upon its re-
emergence, the Taliban released its "Layeha" or code of conduct in 2006, instructing field commanders to
target schools that implemented the post-2001 curriculum, with a particular emphasis on girls' schools.
The Ministry of Education reported that over 500 schools, predominantly located in the south and east of
the country, were closed due to threats and direct attacks by the Taliban in 2006 (Rubin and Rudeforth
2016). The threat posed by the Taliban continued to be a major concern for the education sector
throughout the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. In addition, the nexus of ISIS-K-Taliban led to deadly
attacks on educational institutions like the American University of Afghanistan, Kabul University, and
those of the Hazara Community during the Islamic Republic (Mohammadi and Askary 2021; The
Washington Post 2020; Johns Hopkins University 2021).

Corruption barriers [ to education ]

Despite efforts to improve the abilities of the education sector workforce, the competency of executives
at both the capital and province levels had remained lacking, primarily due to a shortage of qualified
professionals who were unwilling to work for the low salaries offered by the Ministry of Education. The
lack of appropriate workplace resources and equipment, particularly in the area of information
technology, further had exacerbated the problem of ineffective management within the Ministry of
Education (Center for Strategic and Regional Studies 2020a). The corruption within the Ministry of
Education is notable for several malpractices, including the presence of 40,880 fraudulent teachers on the
payroll, 1,033 fictitious schools, 1,400 school construction projects executed without adhering to proper
procurement regulations, embezzlement of over 20 million USD in textbook printing contracts, the loss of
64 containers containing various school supplies (such as notebooks, boxes, pens, and food items), and
various other instances of theft and looting that is not yet disclosed (Center for Strategic and Regional
Studies 2020b). For higher education, corrupt practices by both local individuals and foreign contractors,
along with long-standing traditions of patronage networks influenced by personal relationships and
favoritism, were reported (Welch and Wahidyar 2020).

Between 2001 and 2021, Afghanistan faced numerous difficulties in the realm of higher education. These
issues included low-quality education, shortage of competent faculty and staff, inadequate administration
and management, scarce learning resources such as no access to e-libraries and academic databases,
limited opportunities for further education and career growth for graduates, and low employment
prospects for those who completed their studies (Baha n.d.). Due to security concerns and budget
constrains, higher education institutions were unable to invite guest lecturers from foreign universities or
institutions (Welch and Wahidyar 2020). The low salaries in the public sector caused many academic staff
members to take up additional work in the private sector, which in turn weakened the teaching and
research culture in both public and private higher education institutions (Welch and Wahidyar 2020).
Regarding female students, verbal harassment while commuting to university was cited as a concern and
demean by several female students (Burridge, Maree Payne, and Rahmani 2016).

13
Education of women and girls in Afghanistan since the Taliban's return
to power
The Taliban swept again to power on August 15, 2021. With the subsequent fall of other provinces and
eventually Kabul, the prospects for the rights of Afghan women and girls to education seemed bleak.
Despite the Taliban's assurances of having a moderate interpretation of Islam during the Doha agreement
negotiations vis-à-vis girl education (Afghan Embassy - Canberra 2022), in practice, their policies against
women and girls indicate a return to their 1990s ideology, the time when they took power for the first
time in Afghanistan.

The education sector, due to chaos, for around one month after the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban,
shut. Then the Taliban announced the reopening of schools but prevented girls beyond grade six from
resuming their education (Reuters 2021; Al Jazeera 2022b). In a statement, the Taliban's Ministry of
Education referred to restrictions on girls to the culture, social norms, and security in the country, further
mentioning that people do not want schools for their female children (BBC Persian 2022).

In their second month of domination, universities reopened but under the condition of observing the
policy of gender segregation (Al Jazeera 2022a). Public and private universities, lacking proper facilities to
separate classes for male and female students, resorted to using a curtain as a division. Female university
students were subjected to unbearable restrictions when attending classes. They were forced to cover
their faces not only in public areas of the university but in classes as well (BBC Dari 2022). Male teachers
were also not allowed to teach female students.

Despite the restrictions, the prospects to open universities and higher education for girls were short-lived.
After debates arose among Taliban senior officials regarding girls' education, the Ministry of Higher
Education ordered the closure of universities for females, claiming that the university environment was
incompatible with Sharia law and Afghan traditions (Noori 2022).

Women's rights activists have protested such a decision and the discriminatory policy of the Taliban, but
they were suppressed. The protests were not accompanied by anti-Taliban slogans, but instead demanded
their rights to work, education, freedom of movement without a Mahram (male family member as a
chaperone), and to dress as they wish and not based on the Taliban's interpretation (Human Rights Watch
2021). All protests were met with violence. The Taliban violated their rights to freedom of expression,
association, and assembly. They have used severe hate speech against women protestors, whipped, and
beaten a few with batons. The Taliban mostly targeted the organizers and those who were filming the
protests and demanded that they do not disseminate footage of the violence inflicted against the
protesters on social media (BBC News 2021). Women protesters and organizers were subjected to
harassment, abuse, beating, detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and ill-treatment (Amnesty
International 2022).

14
Following the downfall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Taliban's oppression of women has
intensified. The ban on girls from attending universities and secondary schools11 12, as well as recently
being prohibited from taking the Kankor university entrance exam13, has drawn international criticism and
created hopelessness among the young Afghan girl population. The Taliban are confining women and girls
to their homes, permitting only necessary outings, and preventing them from accessing education at
secondary schools and universities (BBC News 2022).

A Statistic of the Ban on Girls' Schooling for 12th Graders in 2022 and Secondary Education
in 2023
Graph 1 shows that the ban on girls' education predominantly affects the Capital, Northeastern, Northern,
and Western regions, respectively. The number of girls banned from attending schools for 12th Graders
in 2022 and the entire Secondary education in 2023 in the Capital, Northeastern, Northern, Western,
Eastern, Central, Southeastern, and Southern regions is 607,236; 415,652; 400,888; 395,105; 312,483;
219,403; 147,406; and 89,970 respectively, totaling approximately to 2.6 million girls across Afghanistan.

(Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

11
The female students who were in 12th grade in 2021 had already completed their semi-final exam before the Taliban took over
the government. Instead of taking a final exam, they were simply graduated and asked to pay for their transcripts and diplomas.
This promotion process was also applied to other grades, promoting them one year higher. However, on December 7, 2022, a
final exam was scheduled for state-promoted 12th grade students, and the girls were only informed a few days in advance with
inadequate information. As a result, many were unable to attend the exam, unaware of the scheduled date. Some students who
arrived two days later were upset and crying, and one student's hands were shaking with sadness as she asked for guidance on
what to do. Those who failed to attend the exam were not offered place for graduation. Those who missed the exam were not
allowed to graduate.
12
Interview with a high school teacher located in Herat, Afghanistan, Online, March 01, 2023.
13
Effective from 01/28/2023

15
The Capital region, with 607,236 female students, is the hardest hit by the ban. Historically, school
enrollment in Capital (mainly Kabul province), North Eastern, Northern, Western (mainly Herat province)
and Central provinces has been high over the two decades from 2001 to 2021 due to the open culture and
support for female education in both schools and universities. The highest enrollment rate of girls in
Afghanistan is in the capital city of Kabul, which attracts students from other regions who reside in Kabul
and attend schools there. Kabul province, including both Kabul city and its rural areas, has the highest
number of out-of-school female students, with a total of approximately half a million, of which 406,260
are in the city and 93,779 are in rural areas. Overall, more than 600,000 12th graders of 2022 and entire
cohort of 2023 secondary school girls cannot attend schools in the Capital region as shown in Graph 2.

(Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

Following the Capital region, the second highest affected region is the Northeastern region, with 415,652
girls unable to attend schools. The number of students who cannot attend schools in the provinces of
Takhar, Badakhshan, Kunduz, and Baghlan is 120,461; 112,843; 95,831; and 86,517, respectively. Since
enrollment in this region has been high, it is one of the most affected regions, as shown in Graph 3.

16
 (Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

The third region with the most female students unable to attend schools is the Northern region, with
400,888 students. Balkh province, with 170,636 female students, has the highest number of girls banned
from school in this region. Following Balkh, Faryab, and Jowzjan have the most female students who
cannot attend school. Sarepul and Samangan provinces have the lowest number of affected female
students, with 49,065 and 34,657, respectively. Graph 4 provides a more detailed visualization of the
number of banned students in the Northern provinces.

17
 (Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

In the Western region of Afghanistan, the province of Herat has the highest number of girls affected by
the ban on education, with 264,750 female students unable to attend school. The Ghor, Badghis, and
Farah provinces have 54,355, 29,004, and 28,236 girls, respectively, who are impacted by the ban. The
province with the lowest number is Nimruz, with 18,760 students. The total number of affected female
students in the Western region is 395,105, as shown in Graph 5.

(Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

18
In the Eastern region of Afghanistan, the ban has affected the highest number of female students in
Nangarhar (200,211), Laghman (51,943), Kunar (47,870), and Nooristan (12,459) provinces, respectively.
The province with the lowest number of impacted female students is Nooristan (12,459). The ban has
prevented a total of 312,483 female students from attending school in this region. A graph displaying the
number of affected students can be found below.

(Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

In the Central region of Afghanistan, Ghazni and Daikundi have the highest number of girls who are
banned from attending school, with 86,785 and 53,755, respectively. Bamyan and Wardak have the lowest
number of female students unable to participate in school, with 42,897 and 35,966, respectively. The total
number of girls in the central region who are unable to attend school due to the ban is 219,403.

19
 (Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

The Southeastern and Southern region of Afghanistan has the lowest number of girls impacted by the ban
on education. Historically, enrollment in these regions has been low, mainly due to conflict and cultural
factors. Khost has the highest number in the Southeastern region, close to 63,600. The province with the
lowest number of affected students is Paktika, with 14,200. The total number of girls in the Southeastern
region who cannot attend school is 147,406, as shown in Graph 8.

20
 (Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)

The total number of female students affected by the ban is the lowest in the Southern region compared
to other regions in Afghanistan. In Kandahar province, approximately 50,861 female students cannot
attend school. Similarly, the ban affects Helmand 24,796, Zabul 9,372, and Urozgan 4,941 female students,
which are the lowest compared to all other provinces. Overall, the total number of girls unable to attend
school in the Southern region is 89,970. Graph 9 visualizes the effect of the ban in this region.

21
 (Co-authors' analysis from Ministry of Education Provincial Report of 2019)
The ban on education imposed by the Taliban in Afghanistan can be better visualized through
the following map displaying the country's provinces based on their zonal division.

22
It is noteworthy that in 2001, there were approximately 5,000 female students enrolled in higher
education institutions. However, this number increased to around 103,854 by 2021. Unfortunately, in
2023, the number dropped to zero due to the Taliban's ban on female education (UNESCO 2023).

The Impact of the Taliban's Regained Control on the Education Sector and, With It, the
Overall Society
The Taliban's return to power has had a devastating effect on education and society. The facts and analysis
reveal that the restrictions have harmed schooling, especially for females, and within this frame, it also
harmed girls from different angles. The following appear to be the worst effects of the Taliban's return to
power on education and, with it, society.

First, the Taliban's assumption of power in Afghanistan has negatively impacted the educational system,
particularly for female students who were studying at private institutions. The strict restrictions placed on
the education of women and girls by the Taliban have resulted in a marked decrease in the student
population to zero (Ahmadi 2022). The consequent lack of sufficient enrollment has caused the closure of
over half of Afghanistan's private educational institutions. In addition, functioning private educational
institutions are being compelled to revamp their curricula with a focus on religious topics, a shift that
contradicts the educational goals and aspirations of female students who would have otherwise paid (in
case of a no ban) to study science or social science subjects (Ahmadi 2022).

Second, the prohibition on education for female students beyond grade six and higher education has
caused substantial emotional harm, including elevated levels of distress, depression, and anxiety (Neyazi
et al. 2022). Several reports have shown that girls were left in tears after the Taliban's initial efforts to
shut down schools for female students beyond grade six and openly pleaded for the schools to be
reopened (Tu 2022). The evidence from multiple studies on the subject underscores the fact that the ban
on education for girls has not only impeded their cognitive growth but has also caused substantial
psychological harm in Afghanistan (Tharwani et al. 2023; Neyazi et al. 2022). It is indeed a sad and
challenging reality to reside in a country where girls are not legally permitted to receive any form of offline
education beyond grade six, making Afghanistan the only nation in the world with such restrictions (Akbari
and True 2022; EFSAS 2022; Ahmadi 2022).

Third, the closure of the American University of Afghanistan for political reasons, one of the
internationally accredited universities in Afghanistan14, and the bankruptcy of several other universities
due to a decrease in enrollment numbers serve as solid evidence of the adverse effects of the ban on
education for girls and limitations on education, the quality, and accessibility of higher Education in
Afghanistan. It furthermore thwarts the educational initiatives by private institutions (EFSAS 2022;
Ahmadi 2022).

Fourth, the discontinuation of research funding and projects for universities in Afghanistan, particularly
in the crucial areas of agriculture, livestock, irrigation, and water management, is a critical issue that has
far-reaching consequences. As a country characterized by its agrarian and mountainous terrain and the

14
Interview with one of the students of the American University of Afghanistan.

23
potential for food self-sufficiency, Afghanistan heavily depends on research in these areas for its food
security, economic stability, and growth (EFSAS 2022; Ahmadi 2022).

Fifth, the recent review of university subjects and curriculum to adopt a so-called "Islamic" focus, and the
removal of the fine arts faculty, including music courses and teachings, and cultural activities, hinder the
growth and development of cultural, musical, and artistic expressions in Afghanistan (Ahmadi 2022). This
is in stark contrast to the actions of previous leaders, such as Monarch Zahir Shah, President Daud Khan,
and generally, the Communist regimes, who invested in and encouraged the growth of radio, cinema, and
culture in the country. These recent changes are detrimental to the cultural heritage of Afghanistan.

Sixth, academic freedom is under threat in Afghanistan (Ahmadi 2022). The country's progress toward
establishing free and uncensored educational institutions, where knowledge is shared, criticism is
encouraged, and constructive recommendations are made, has been hindered by recent events. These
events include the appointment of unqualified Talib militants to key positions, the censorship of libraries
to eliminate materials critical of the Taliban, the closure of the political science department at Kabul
University with a rich history of producing leaders and policymakers, and the cancellation of the master's
program in international relations due reason of lack of professors/preceptors. These actions impede
academic freedom, a cornerstone of democratic societies, and restrict the growth and development of
higher education in Afghanistan.

Seventh, the restriction of women's participation in the education system beyond primary schools is a
hindrance to their ability to contribute to the workforce as educators, administrators, researchers,
managers, coaches, and female dormitory supervisors15 (Ahmadi 2022). This prohibition unfairly limits the
potential of half of Afghanistan's population and perpetuates gender inequality in the workforce and
society at large.

Eight, the evacuation flights started on August 15, 2021, have led to a mass departure of academics and
scholars who studied abroad during the Republic, causing a significant brain drain in Afghanistan. This has
been fueled by the departures of both male and female experts who studied abroad through scholarships
or other educational opportunities or who worked on Western-funded projects. The loss of these experts
at a time when Taliban-oriented individuals are prioritized over Western-educated ones has created a
vacuum that cannot be filled by those who have decided to stay or who had no option to go abroad. This
has resulted in a decline in the quality of education in the country, as teaching is no longer seen as a
preferred profession, and people with insufficient levels of education and training are being recruited for
teaching positions. This shortage of professionals, coupled with the lack of female teachers in rural areas,
undermines the progress made in education efforts during the Republic. Additionally, those who are
studying or planning to study abroad are less likely to return to Afghanistan, exacerbating the problem
(Ahmadi 2022).

15
Interview with a former student of Kabul University, Online, January, 2023.

24
Ninth, in Afghanistan, the closure of schools and universities contributes to the increase in suicides,
especially among females. Considering that 80% of all suicide attempts are made by girls and 95% of self-
immolation casualties are females aged 14 to 19, action must be taken to address this problem (Tharwani
et al. 2023). Girls are deprived of a critical source of support and chances for personal and social growth
when schools and universities are closed for that age category, in a critical age where they need to learn
about life management and combatting problems either through examples in textbooks or debates and
discussions in the classroom or during the way toward home with friends. Inaccessibility to schools and
social support would leave young girls feeling hopeless and alone (Tharwani et al. 2023). Suicide risk may
increase under such conditions, especially in societies such as Afghanistan, where females face extra
obstacles and restrictions. The closure of schools and universities, imposed by the government as a ban
on education, undermines the government's duty to address the issue of rising suicides among girls. This
ban restricts access to crucial resources and services that could help prevent suicide, such as community-
based mental health programme and online psychosocial counseling (Tharwani et al. 2023). In rural areas,
where women already face limited access to formal education, the ban on education makes it even harder
for them to receive the support they need. The Taliban's harsh impositions further worsen the situation,
making it more challenging to achieve the objectives of providing online education services and mitigating
suicides (Tharwani et al. 2023).

Tenth, in Afghanistan's modern history, political transformations have usually been initiated and led by
elites in urban areas who had far better opportunities to access modern education compared to those
living in the periphery. The political elites usually attempted to transform society by embedding their
political discourse in the education system and textbooks. The Taliban, however, presents an opposite
case. The majority of the Taliban members have grown in Afghanistan's rural areas of the south and east
as well as along the Afghan-Pakistani tribal region. The Taliban have madrasa education and no modern
education. As a rural grown and madrasa-educated group, they want to transform the society, especially
the urban regions, through an education system that comes in contradiction with the modern education
the urban residents are used to. In other words, the Taliban want to dominate the rural social atmosphere
over the urban one. A practice that is inconsistent with that of earlier administrations, in which they
desired to dominate the urban social atmosphere over the rural environment. This transformational
strategy places education at the forefront of pursuing this purpose. Hence, the decline of educational
standards may complement this purpose.

Eleventh, the Taliban aim to gradually shift formal institutions towards informal ones, not through a
formal policy or announcement, but at an implicit and localized level. This is demonstrated in the
conversion of schools and learning centers into madrasas in several provinces of Afghanistan, which
results in a change from a formal to an informal education and learning structure (Radio Azadi 2022).
madrasas hold a significant place in the Taliban's ideology, as the word "Taliban" translates to "students
of Madrasas." (Radio Azadi 2022)

Twelfth, the Taliban's ban on education and the reduction of women to second-class citizens perpetuates
a negative image of Islam as a religion that denies women access to education and rights. Despite being
widely criticized, this conservative viewpoint is not uncommon in today's international community. The

25
Taliban's claim that women's education is anti-Islamic and part of a "Western agenda" is a false
representation at best (Misra 2023). In Islam, the significance of education and the pursuit of knowledge
is emphasized by the first word of the initial verse revealed in the Quran, "Iqra," meaning "read." Islam
has a long history of promoting knowledge, as demonstrated by numerous verses in the Quran
emphasizing its importance. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, not only emphasized the
importance of knowledge through his teachings but also set a personal example by promoting education
(Baryal, Mehraaein, and Patang 2022).

Thirteenth, education plays a critical role in addressing and preventing domestic violence, particularly for
girls (Kovess-Masfety et al. 2023; Vale, Margolin, and Akbari 2023; Moorehead 2023). Not attending
school is a major contributor to domestic violence, and providing education, especially to girls, is a crucial
step in mitigating its impact. At the same time, attending school is essential for the mental health of all
children, regardless of gender. Failing to prioritize education would have negative consequences on the
mental well-being of the children, as well as the future of the country (Neyazi et al. 2022; Kovess-Masfety
et al. 2023).

Fourteenth, a ban on female education goes against the fundamental principles of human rights.
Education is recognized as a fundamental human right by international law, as stated in Article 26 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR also recognizes that education is necessary for
the full realization of other human rights and for the promotion of peace, well-being, and sustainable
development (Bogaert 2022).

Fifteen, the Taliban's ban on girls' education in Afghanistan has the potential to cause significant adverse
effects on the country's economy in the coming years. A recent study by UNICEF estimates the cost of this
ban to be 5.4 billion US dollars, which represents a substantial loss of economic contribution that could
have been made by Afghan women had they not been denied access to education. By denying girls the
opportunity to gain knowledge and develop skills, the ban limits their economic potential and their ability
to contribute to the growth and stability of their country. This underscores the importance of promoting
access to education for all, especially for girls, in order to foster a more prosperous and sustainable future
for Afghanistan and maintain the economic cycle of the country to benefit all stakeholders (Barlas, Sadiq,
and Haidari 2022).

On another side, the Taliban's ban on girls' education in Afghanistan has spurred the development of
innovative online education resources. The Afghan diaspora and foreigners (e.g., The Asia Foundation)
have started to work on introducing secondary school subjects via mobile applications, such as the Noon16

16
Noon is an online educational platform established in 2018 to provide children in Afghanistan with access to quality education.
The platform offers a centralized system for delivering the Afghan school curriculum in both Dari and Pashto to students
throughout the country. The platform's course module is comprised of subject lessons divided into a series of video lectures with
accompanying graphics and animations to aid in comprehension. Chapter texts from the corresponding textbook are also
provided, and quizzes are available for assessment purposes. In addition to the course module, Noon has integrated various other
modules into its application to enrich the learning experience. The discussion module enables teacher-student communication
via a chatroom feature, allowing students to present queries that teachers can answer and explain. The homework/assignment
module enables students to submit assignments and receive feedback from teachers. The student performance monitoring
module is another core feature, enabling parents and guardians to engage in the educational process through parental accounts.

26
app, which records lessons from books for the entire curriculum and can be accessed online17. However,
the main challenge remains access to the internet (Faqiryar 2021). Many Afghan households cannot afford
to pay for internet access18, which presents a significant barrier to girls who wish to continue their
education online and further their learning opportunities. Despite these challenges, the creation of these
online resources offers a promising alternative for girls who have been denied access to in-person
schooling and highlights the importance of ensuring affordable and equitable access to technology and
the internet for all.

Such a discriminating decision regarding ignorance of the Afghan women and girls' education will
negatively affect the success of the environment. It causes potentially disastrous consequences for
Afghanistan. The country's future prosperity significantly depends on the education level of the
population. The next Afghan generation will not be capable of taking part in the country’s development
while the education of half of the population, women, is banned. The Taliban have not only violated the
fundamental rights of Afghan women and girls, but such a decision will escalate hostility, harassment, and
violence towards women as well. Additionally, the female education ban significantly results in brain
drain.

Following the events of August 2021, the need for online education has become more pressing. Recognizing this need, Noon
began working on a new phase of development in June 2022, which included the creation of new Android and IOS applications.
The new design and content provide additional features to enhance the educational experience for students.
17
Interview with Abdul Salam Faiq, Chief Technology Officer of Noon Digital Education. 02/27/2023. Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.
18
Faiq, interview.

27
Taliban-led Curriculum Modification in Afghanistan; Examining the
Impact on Close-Mindedness and the Emergence of Neo-Taliban Nation-
Building
On 17 December 2022, the Hesht-e Subh daily newspaper (aka 8AM) published an exclusive report
demonstrating the efforts of the Taliban either during the Doha agreement's negotiations period or
following its endorsement of modifying the content of Afghanistan's school textbooks from grade one to
twelve (Hasht-e Subh Daily 2022). According to the report presented on 20 December 2020 by the
Taliban's assessment board for the modification of the education curriculum to the Taliban's Education
and Higher Education Commission, it is conspicuous that the designated board to perform the curriculum
evaluation had spent months presenting its recommendations and critics (Hasht-e Subh Daily 2022). Yet,
the Doha agreement was signed between the United States of America and the Taliban on 29 February
2020 (Betz 2022).

Altering or modifying the school curriculum is not surprising when the regime changes in a country, either
from a democratic to a despotic or vice versa. Nonetheless, the ambition behind the transformation could
differ. To overlook, to underestimate, and to deny the power of textbooks in shaping society and detect
of the form of a government would be a mere mistake, for an examination of the content of the textbooks
reveals the extent to which a society is becoming nuanced objectively and the extent to which a regime is
a democracy, tyranny, theocracy or else. In democratic regimes based on a non-politicizing policy of
curriculum, ameliorating the curriculum serves to hone the students' abilities and skills toward open-
mindedness, cultivate a critical and discerning stance towards novelty and instill an unbiased view of the
past in order to do better in the future (Chun 2018; Curzer and Gottlieb 2019). However, the regimes
pursuing to advance a particular political or religious doctrine, mold the school textbooks and curriculum
to invent national and cultural identity, shape the nation's collective memory, engineer political
socialization, foster an ascetic attitude towards life combined with patriotism, inculcate behavior
patterns, specific kinds of dispositions, values and beliefs to support and maintain the regime or fight for
it, disseminate fundamental and religious teachings or interpret scientific and non-scientific phenomena
through a religious perspective (Alayan and Podeh 2018; Chun 2018; Mehran 1989; Cook 1999).

Furthermore, scholarly works on textbooks have drawn the attention to their numerous features,
capabilities, and roles as a device for transmitting social, political, and religious values to students. It is
more evident in conflict-ridden states where the regime instills its political and social agenda to legitimize
or consolidate its social and political order. Textbooks and, in a broader sense, the curriculum holds a
special role here because they are among the only widely available and extensively distributed forms of
educational media in society, linking the school environment with the home environment and actively
contributing to the implementation of the doctrine of the regime. But, in terms of design, the curriculum
is there to function as an elevator for school students to learn the necessary skills and knowledge to shape
their way of living systematically (Halinen 2018). Here arises the controversy between effective education,
which is a non-politicized curriculum, and ineffective curriculum, which is a politicized curriculum.

28
Against this backdrop, in the 1980s, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
provided the University of Nebraska-Omaha and its Center for Afghanistan Studies with a budget of $50
million from September 1986 to June 1994 to produce books that were deeply polarizing and anti-Soviet,
with violent images and passages encouraging Jihad and terror as per combating Communism strategy of
the United States (Davis 2002; Stephens and Ottaway 2002). This curriculum is known as the "J is for Jihad"
curriculum and features politicized, Islamized, militarized, bigoted and fanatical genre of textbooks that
were intended to indoctrinate those who study them (Sarvarzade and Wotipka 2017). A revision of the
textbooks in the "J is for Jihad" curriculum was undertaken by the Mujahideen in 1991 due to the violent
nature of their content, was completed in 1992, and involved the removal of images of militants from the
textbooks. However, a large number of unrevised textbooks remained in circulation in Afghanistan even
for a while after the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001 (Davis 2002).

The unrevised textbooks in the set "J is for Jihad" curriculum were initially intended for use by Afghan
refugees in schools in Pakistan (Matsumoto 2011). However, with the help of regional military leaders,
these textbooks were smuggled into Afghanistan from Pakistan and eventually disseminated throughout
the entire country (Davis 2002). When the Taliban, as the successors of the Mujahideen, inherited the "J
is for Jihad" curriculum, they made two changes to it. Firstly, they removed the images of human faces
from the unrevised textbooks but left the rest of the content unchanged (Davis 2002). Secondly, they
changed the name of the regime printed on the first page of the textbooks from the Islamic State of
Afghanistan to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban were unable to revise the curriculum during
their first administration because they were subject to severe sanctions and lacked the financial means
and resources to attempt printing new textbooks at the time the country was still embroiled in a civil war,
which prevented them from prioritizing curriculum modification. However, this was not the case when
the Taliban were about to return to power for the second time. The official establishment of the Taliban's
political office in Qatar in January 2012 granted them de facto legitimacy, a platform for communication
and networking, and diplomatic privileges (Wolf 2016). The prolongation of negotiations between the
United States, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (ignored as a signing party of the Doha agreement), and
the Taliban, with back-and-forth meetings, inflexible positions, and entanglements, turned the Qatar
station into a comfort zone for the Taliban. This comfort zone emboldened the Taliban to embark upon
planning to bring changes according to their doctrine. Modifying the 2011-2014 (gradually prepared,
printed, and distributed) Western-funded and backed school curriculum was one of the plans being
considered by the Taliban (Hasht-e Subh Daily 2022). The 8AM19 newspaper revealed this intention in
2022, almost two years after the recommendations and critiques about the 2011-2014 curriculum were
presented to the Taliban's body in charge of education and higher education before the signature of the
Doha agreement.

Of these modification attempts in the curriculum, the Taliban's board of educational evaluation had
agreed upon twelve principles as criteria, serving as the base for considerations, recommendations,
critiques, and shortcomings associated with textbooks. This framework of twelve principles works as if the
textbooks' content is in contrast with at least one, then a change to that contrasted content would be

19
Hasht-e Subh Daily

29
inevitable. Following are the twelve principles the Taliban used as criteria in the entire evaluation process.
The textbooks would not tolerate 1) anti-Sharia notions, 2) immoral issues, 3) contradiction with Afghan
traditions, 4) compliment of foreign cultures, 5) compliment of Western or Eastern individuals instead of
Afghan forerunners, 6) anti-Islamic traditions and practices, including but not limited to music, television,
and democracy, 7) contradictive notions against the independence of the country, 8) negation or
disrespect to the national heroes, 9) Xenophilia and foreign individuals portrayed as heroes, 10) thinking
of democracy and its norms as values, 11) negation of Afghanistan's geography and the geography of the
Islamic world, and 12) negation of historical facts (Hasht-e Subh Daily 2022).

It is within the jurisdiction of a regime to establish a framework for textbooks and, more generally, to
design the content of the curriculum. However, how curriculum design has been approached in some
countries has varied. One approach to curriculum design involves the transfer of responsibility from a
state body to an independent institution, or the complete absence of state involvement in the process, in
order to adopt a bottom-up approach (Halinen 2018; Chun 2018). This approach (non-framed) allows a
diverse group of actors, including teachers, students, experts, members of civil society, and scholars, to
design a curriculum that aims to avoid nationalistic bias, include essential content in the textbooks, and
"become objective classroom material that will help future generations become true global citizens."
(Chun 2018, 16) Another approach to curriculum design involves the presence of the state in all levels of
the process, but with a distinctive feature of presenting trajectories in a justified way from the state's
perspective in relation to "others." Under this approach (framed), the state provides guidelines for
textbook production but does not overstep its boundaries by attempting to indoctrinate or propagate an
ideology or doctrine (Chun 2018; Alayan and Podeh 2018). The final approach to curriculum design
involves the promotion of a state-led ideology or doctrine, which may be motivated by a religious,
political, or social agenda. This approach (state-led) to curriculum design primarily cuts the ties of students
with the broader world and current educational practices, leading to a lack of exposure to diverse
perspectives and hindering their ability to access equal and high-quality education. It also promotes close-
mindedness and exacerbates biased views within the society (Curzer and Gottlieb 2019).

It appears that the recommendations for curriculum modification proposed by the Taliban follow an
approach characterized by total state intervention and a focus on state-centric priorities. The Taliban's
board of evaluation, in the light of the 12 mentioned principles, identified and described 23 general issues
in the curriculum that, according to them, are deemed problematic, misused or have associated issues,
either conceptually or empirically. The categorization of the 23 general issues identified by the Taliban
enables us to examine each of the raised issues from a broader perspective. Because of this, a synopsis of
them opens the way for understanding the orientation of the type of curriculum they would like to attain,
its source of origin, and the objective of such an endeavor. It is crucial to realize that, despite the following
categories being established, the 23 identified general issues are deeply intertwined with one another,
indicating weak editorial board knowledge to conceptualize their identified issues properly.

Under the category of “so-called 'Islamic-oriented' considerations" falls 1) lack of awareness of the
significance of Islamic global geography, as well as its political and economic spheres, 2) incorrect
description of Jihad, war and civil war, 3) celebration of un-Islamic holidays such as Nawroz and similar

30
events, 4) inclusion of information about other faiths such as Buddhism and Zoroastrianism or kinship ties
to them, 5) incorrect introduction of the Buddha of Bamiyan as cultural and historical heritage, 6) incorrect
and intentional introduction of the concept of 'equality,' 7) lack of consideration of natural disasters from
an Islamic perspective, and 8) use of a Westernized definition of 'peace' and the misinterpretation of
'Jihad.'

Considerations under the category of "alien values" fall the following 1) indoctrination and
encouragement of alien cultures, personalities, and values while providing minimal information about
Afghanistan and Islam, 2) use of a Westernized narrative of 'human rights,' 3) introduction of a
Westernized definition of 'women's rights' that, unlike the Islamic definition, violates women's rights, and
4) propagation of women's education as an absolute right while failing to specify which subjects women
are allowed to study.

Under the category of "Taliban-centric" falls 1) the marginalization of the history and progress of Islamic
societies and whitewashing or ignoring Afghan personalities who made mistakes, 2) the provision of
limited knowledge about independence and misleading information on the occupation of the country, 3)
replacement of Republic's national anthem with the Taliban's, 4) mis-introduction of the concept of
"terrorism" and linkage of it with Jihad-related operations, while failing to highlight who real terrorists
are, and 5) limited information about all types of drugs, including the omission of wine as one.

Under the category of "political" falls 1) excessive efforts to cultivate nationalism and ethnocentrism
through Pashto language textbooks while negating the concept of Islamic brotherhood., 2) the absence
of mention of the brutal invasion of Afghanistan by the United States in Patriotism subjects, as well as the
lack of inculcation of hatred toward the invaders, 3) lack of mention of the structure of an Islamic regime,
but the inclusion of detailed information on republicanism, democracy, and the separation of powers, 4)
information about the Westernized and Western-influenced constitutional law of Afghanistan, and 5)
references to parliament and Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders) of Afghanistan (The Taliban’s editorial
board had failed in the original document to differentiate bodies of the National Assembly of Afghanistan)
instead of 'Ahl al-Ḥall wa'l-'Aqd' and 'Majlis ash-Shura.'

Under the category of "artistic images and personalities" falls 1) portrayal of living or non-living objects
that each exhibit characteristics of modern Western societies, 2) efforts to highlight non-Muslim scientists
and scholars while neglecting Muslim ones, 3) textbooks with pictures that depict Western uniforms as
representing progress while portraying Sharia-based clothing as inferior to Western clothing, and 4)
portrayal of music instruments as means for their cultivation and regularization in society while ignoring
the fact that they are considered haram and contradictory to Islam.

It is true that the 2011-2014 curriculum, which the West supported, has its own flaws, and to an extent,
West-centric content is involved in it. History textbooks, especially those lessons that cover the country's
history, have not been designed to help students understand the mistakes made in the past and what can
be done to create a better future. The educational system lacked a structured framework or subject
dedicated to physical development, with the emphasis instead placed on nurturing students

31
intellectually20. While physical education was included in the curriculum (under the ‘Sport’ subject),
schools were given the freedom to choose what activities to offer under this subject only for one or two
classes in a week, which mostly involved some activities in passing the time based on the teacher's
available equipment, interest, and expertise21. The textbooks contained limited sources, and social
science narratives did not have adequate critiques. Additionally, the science-related textbooks had
numerous illustrations drawn from Zambak Publishing's textbooks, which were previously used by the
Afghan Turk schools affiliated with the Gulen Movement.

Donors have also consistently emphasized Western learning and teaching norms in Afghanistan's post-
2001 textbooks (Jones 2007). However, the curriculum is not as heavily flawed as the Taliban claimed in
light of their 12 principles. Although a team of UNICEF-contracted "parachute workers" was responsible
for providing "advice," "assistance," and "support" to the Afghan Ministry of Education's Compilation and
Translation Department (CTD) in order to improve their professional skills and encourage independence
in textbook development (Woo and Simmons 2008). An example of the content of the textbooks aids in
dealing with the Taliban's one-sided narrative description. In the History textbooks, Afghanistan's
superiority in the face of colonialism is highlighted, while the West is portrayed and referred to in a
derogatory manner. However, in the Civics textbooks, Western principles such as constitutional law,
democracy, freedom of speech, mass media, gender inequality, and human rights are covered in detail
from grades ten to twelve. The content of the Civics subject textbooks could be replaced with lessons that
teach students about the rights of diverse citizens in Afghanistan and encourage them to understand and
respect these individuals. So, a type of evaluation would be justified if one attempted to critically evaluate
the 2011-2014 curriculum in order "to improve the joy and meaningfulness of learning and student
agency, enhancing thinking and learning to learn as well as other transversal skills, and to support the
development of schools as collaborative learning communities," or even instilling respect and
understanding towards various ethnics, faiths, traditions, figures, personalities, symbols, languages, and
minorities as proper means of nation-building (Halinen 2018, 76). However, the Taliban's approach seems
to be diametrically opposed to the ground realities and necessity of curriculum modification in
Afghanistan.

Taliban would want to erase all images from textbooks, but it is important for textbooks to contain images
and pictures because they can significantly impact the learning process, stimulate creativity, and enhance
the book's overall quality (Hasht-e Subh Daily 2022; Kasmaienezhadfard, Pourrajab, and Rabbani 2015).
When students are able to view visuals before reading a text, it can help them engage their imaginations
more effectively. The combination of words and visuals is a powerful tool for making a lasting impression
on children and students (Kasmaienezhadfard, Pourrajab, and Rabbani 2015). However, Taliban 2.022 has
proposed removing all depictions of living things and pictures from textbooks, citing their belief that these
elements are anti-Sharia. They have even suggested deleting human body models from biology textbooks.

20
Interview with an expert, online on 01/08/2023.
21
Interview with superintendent of private school, Online, January, 2023.
22
Referring to the second rule of the Taliban over Afghanistan from 15 August 2021 to the Present.

32
In addition, using a strategy known as "differentiation," teachers adapt lessons to the specific learning
requirements of each student in the classroom. This could be extraordinarily helpful in Afghanistan, where
students may come from a wide range of cultural and educational backgrounds and varying degrees of
previous knowledge and abilities. By using differentiation tactics, educators may provide every student,
regardless of their unique characteristics, the chance to learn and develop to their full potential23.
Nowadays, in developed and developing countries classes are less about teachers lecturing and more
about students actively engaging with the material via hands-on activities and group projects24. Children
in Afghanistan may benefit significantly from this kind of instruction since it emphasizes the development
of 21st-century skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. Teachers in Afghanistan may
better equip their students for success in today's complex and interconnected world by adopting and
adapting 21st-century teaching and learning practices. But the Taliban want to replace the role of the
teacher as a facilitator with that of a religious clerk, whose primary responsibility is to relate the subject
matter to religion and follow the Taliban's guided philosophy in the classroom as part of the curriculum
revisions they suggested.

Taliban are also laying the groundwork for gender apartheid in Afghanistan by changing the curriculum in
accordance with the broad principles they have proposed. In the context of education, gender apartheid
often implies that girls are refused access to school or are given a different, frequently poorer education
than males (Schirmer 2015; Sehin, Coryell, and Stewart 2016). Gender apartheid is the practice of dividing
or discriminating against individuals based on their gender. Taliban categorized as prohibited and
unsuitable almost all content of textbooks that included women's rights, whether it was in reference to
education, employment, travel, or anything else. Thus, the promotion of gender apartheid in textbooks in
Afghanistan might develop into a significant problem with detrimental effects on women and girls.
Taliban's anti-women ideas would be legitimized throughout the textbooks in the classroom and spread
to the home.

Afghanistan's multi-religious background necessitates a curriculum promoting and endorsing Islamic and
non-Islamic values. Notably, the promotion of those Islamic principles that are endorsed based on a
moderate exegesis of the Quran and Sunnah, which represents a moderate, joyous, and open Islam. The
same holds true for non-Islamic values in accordance with their religious foundations. One example of the
diversity within Afghanistan is the settlement of Hindus and Sikhs, which illustrates the need for a
comprehensive approach to curriculum revision that takes into account the country's heterogeneity.
There were about ten thousand Hindu and Sikh religious minority families in Afghanistan, although none
of the country's administrations have formally recognized all the rights of a Muslim citizen to them
(Shayegan and Ammar 2016). Therefore, if one intends to eliminate religious discrimination and
segregation, it could be achieved either through the inculcation of mutual understanding, respect, and
knowledge of each other's similarities and differences, by the inclusion of related topics in textbooks and
the implementation of equal recognition of rights throughout the political, legal, and social hierarchy. This
is an area where the 2011-2014 curriculum from a textbook design analysis was unsuccessful, as there

23
Interview with superintendent of private school, Online, January, 2023.
24
Interview with a teacher of a private school, Online, January, 2023.

33
was ample opportunity for improvement in a particular subject of Civics. While the Civics subject
textbooks portrayed Western-centric content rather than the country's diversity, other subjects also failed
to depict and work toward the unity of ethnicities, minorities, and faiths. Moreover, due to the Islam's
status as the state religion, small religious minorities like Sikhs and Hindus saw their beliefs and practices
marginalized in the school curriculum (Sadr 2020). Eventually, the denial of minority rights would lead to
prejudice and racial stereotyping because it closes the door to learning about and appreciating the
opinions and peculiarities of others.

By excluding Afghanistan's diverse history and culture from the textbooks by each regime, students are
denied the opportunity to learn uncensored and unbiased information about the country's history, its
influential figures, and the symbols as means to represent the current geography of Afghanistan. It is
important to recognize that the history of a country and its culture is a crucial part of education and
understanding the world. Omitting or censoring certain aspects of a country's history can lead to a
distorted understanding of the past and present. It is important for students to have access to a well-
rounded and accurate education that includes a diverse range of perspectives and histories. As examples
of violations and manipulation of the principle of providing a well-rounded education; in 2012, the
Republic prohibited the entire history of the last 40 years from being taught in schools. The Republic
further indoctrinated the so-called "fabricated" chain of events about the reign of Ahmad Shah-e Abdali
(Sadr 2020). It also failed to teach students about figures who greatly influenced the spread of art in the
country, such as Nainawaz (Fazel Ahmed Zekrya) and Ahmad Zahir, both of whom passed away under
suspicious circumstances - the former executed by the Communist regime of Taraki by the 29th day of
Ramadan before breaking his fast, and the latter passed away in a car accident toward the Salang Tunnel
(“Nainawaz” 2022; Hasti TV 2020). Furthermore, the Republic largely failed to depict a nationalistic image
of Buddha Statues, Kuchi livelihood, Rumi's or other scholar's contributions, or also the unique traditions,
traits, and peculiarities of minorities, or other faiths such as Sikhs, Hindus, Jews, and Christians or else, as
a means of mutual acceptance and understanding. Thus, instead of favoring one philosophy or religion
over another, it is critical for the curriculum to acknowledge and celebrate a country's and its people's
variety.

The Taliban intended to accomplish the exact opposite of what one would anticipate in a revision effort.
Their plan to impose a fundamentalist Islam-centric curriculum, characterized by religious dogmatism and
extreme intolerance for mutual acceptance, would result in close-mindedness and the creation of a rift
between ethnicities, cultures and faiths with the potential to harm or mobilize against one another. This
would be the case because it would not adhere to the standard curriculum objectives for an integrative
pedagogical approach. Furthermore, it will not adhere to the 'value basis of education,' which defines
what counts as essential knowledge and worthy to learn (Tikly and Barrett 2011). Given that each student
comes from a unique background, the negation of the 'value basis of education' would result in the
production of barbaric and uneducated individuals who do not value diversity and have no understanding
of living sustainably (Robertson 2003). In the contemporary world, social and cultural systems are
intertwined to the extent that makes it impossible for a person to stick to a set of pre-identified and pre-
imposed cultural and social norms. Therefore, not being exposed to other philosophies, experiences, or

34
behaviors and attempts to instill students through a narrow and non-interactive curriculum would have
negative consequences for their future development and the country's development.

There are five countries that have had most similar experiences in terms of education to what the Taliban
intends to impose on Afghanistan. Pakistan, Somalia, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia (Ghazinejad and
Ruitenberg 2014; Park and Niyozov 2008; B. Rieffer-Flanagan 2022; Center for Religious Freedom 2008;
Mwangi 2012; B. A. Rieffer-Flanagan 2016). Upon gaining power, pro-Islamic regimes or institutions in
these countries have used education as a tool to Islamize the nation. Textbooks in the named countries
often contain 'us' versus 'them' notions, hateful and violent content towards other faiths, and portray
Islam in a hostile and stereotypical manner (Ghazinejad and Ruitenberg 2014; Park and Niyozov 2008; B.
Rieffer-Flanagan 2022; Center for Religious Freedom 2008; Mwangi 2012; Chun 2018; B. A. Rieffer-
Flanagan 2016; Oweidat 2022; Idoko 2023). The fundamental pro-Islamic policies and changes
implemented in these countries are seen as a successful model by the Taliban25, who seek to replicate the
efforts to Islamize the nation and vast their own type of nation-building. Therefore, examining the
contemporary situation in Afghanistan under Taliban dominance, the societal plights of the
aforementioned countries, as well as the unfruitful impacts of their curricula on addressing social
challenges, provide a clear understanding of the negative consequences that would result from Taliban-
led curriculum changes in Afghanistan. Importantly, the process of Islamization of the curriculum in
Pakistan, particularly under the leadership of General Zia, is viewed by the Taliban as a successful model
to follow. This model allegedly appears logical for the Taliban to follow strongly because 1) their leaders
lived in Pakistan and studied Madrasa in Pakistan under General Zia's imposed curriculum or educational
system, which gives them a nostalgically positive impression, and 2) the Taliban believe that Afghan and
Pakistani societies have commonalities and similar societal conditions, which make it feasible to copy and
paste and endorse what was practiced in Pakistan.

Some examples of the changes that were made to the curriculum and system under General Zia's
leadership, along with the impacts of those changes, can further illustrate this claim. The recognition of
Madrasa certificates as equivalent to master's degrees led to a devaluation of the education system, as
Madrasas are not held to the same academic standards as traditional schools and universities. The
Islamization of the curriculum, including scientific subjects, resulted in a lack of critical thinking skills and
a focus on rote memorization instead of understanding, analysis, and critique. The imposition of the
Chadar on female students was seen as a form of oppression of non-Muslims. Arranging afternoon prayers
during school hours disrupted the regular schedule and took away from educational time. The alteration
of the definition of literacy to mean religious knowledge marginalized those who did not have religious
knowledge and discriminated against non-Muslim students. Finally, the grant of extra marks to
engineering school candidates who had memorized the Quran further marginalized those who did not
have religious knowledge. These changes had a negative impact on the education system in Pakistan and
could potentially have similar consequences in Afghanistan if implemented (Razzaque 2009; Nosheen
2019). In practice so far in Afghanistan, It has been stated by the acting minister of higher education of
the Taliban that the academic degree of a Taliban member is determined by the number of bombs he has

25
Interview with an expert, online on 01/08/2023.

35
placed. Additionally, the Taliban have gone beyond the restrictions imposed in Pakistan by banning
education for girls above grade six and completely shutting down higher education and work for women
in Afghanistan (Noori 2022). In the city of Gujrat, it has been observed that the onset of puberty and the
distance to school significantly decrease girls' enrollment and attendance. The Taliban, up to date, only
cited the girl's uniform as being un-Islamic and the education as secondary and above against culture, plus
contradictory with Sharia as the justification for their ban on both secondary schools and above and
universities (Bhatty 1998). Yet, the role of puberty age and distance from school is not mentioned as a
justification for this decision yet.

In this context, the article aims to illustrate how the Taliban-led textbooks would serve as an instrument
for neo-Taliban nation-building that promotes closed-mindedness, terror, hostility, and segregation on
the way to assimilation in Afghan society.

Neo-Taliban nation-building
Nation-building as "an intergenerational project" "pursued by state leaders, intellectuals, educators, and
others who try to give a state the qualities of a nation-state." (Bauböck 2003, 718; Kolstø and Blakkisrud
2008, 484) The goal of nation-building is to foster a feeling of unity among the people and to make them
feel as if they only belong to the state in which they now reside. In addition to that, in order to build a
nation, one must also both establish new institutions of government and strengthen those that already
exist (Kolstø and Blakkisrud 2008). There are "hard" and "soft" components to building a nation. Part of
the hard side is laying the groundwork for a stable and functional government, including the institutions
necessary to manage the economy, maintain order, and protect its citizens. The soft side entails using
state-sponsored education, propaganda, ideology, and symbols to foster a feeling of national identity and
cohesiveness among a country's citizens. Both are necessary for the development of a solid and stable
nation-state (Kolstø and Blakkisrud 2008).

In the context of Afghanistan, nation-building has been linked with efforts to promote Islam or de-
emphasize Islam in the country's state, society, and culture (Akhlaq 2022). This has been seen in the
various ideologies and policies of different governments and groups in Afghanistan over the years. The
curriculum is one of the areas that is significantly impacted by these efforts, and changes are made to it
based on the doctrine of the time's ruling state or leader (Akhlaq 2022; Samady 2001a). Amir Abdul
Rahman Khan pushed educational reform in order to attain intellectual hegemony for his interpretation
of Islam (Akhlaq 2022). The Habibiyya, the first modern school in Afghanistan, was established by King
Habibullah, who also hired Muslim Indian teachers from outside the country. His intention was to establish
strong national institutions that would prevent Afghans from having to go over the border to pursue their
education as part of the Afghan modernism project (Green 2011). Under the reign of Amanullah Khan, "to
a very large extent education was secularized." (Khan 1932, 464) Education was turned over to religious
authorities by Habibullah Kalakani, who also outlawed education for women (Saba and Sulehria 2017).
Nadir Shah reopened schools, and his son Zahir Shah, followed by his successor Daud Khan, promoted the
modernization of education and significantly expanded access to education in rural and urban areas
(Dupree 1973; Matsumoto 2011). The traditional and cultural components of the school curriculum were

36
altered by the communist rule in the 1980s, reflecting the political and cultural stance of the new
administration (Samady 2001, 12). Education was utilized as a 'weapon' by both the communist regime
and the opposition Mujahideen. The communist government's attempts to 'enlighten' Afghan society by
imposing Marxist doctrine via mass education stoked unrest among the country's citizens. During
Mujahideen's leadership, a new generation was educated with textbooks that instilled Islamic militantism
and equipped them to wage Jihad against Soviet might. Violent pictures were used in communist
government textbooks to promote the battle against Mujahideen, described as “agents of colonialism and
Western oppression.” (Matsumoto 2008; Davis 2002, 91) Taliban 1.026 inherited these violent textbooks
from Mujahideen. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan made attempts to modernize education through
temporary and then later revised curricula, but these efforts are in the process of halting according to the
leaked proposal by Taliban 2.027, aiming to revert to a more fundamental Islam, state-led curriculum.

A consensus of scholars argues that, in Afghanistan's recent history, education has often had a negative
side, serving primarily to inflame conflict rather than to reduce or stop it (e.g., Matsumoto 2011; Akhlaq
2022). Because ideological conflicts between modernism, communism, Islamism, and fundamentalism
have long been waged in the educational system, and as a result, Afghanistan's society has become more
divided (Matsumoto 2008). The situation would become tenser when education, as a soft aspect of
nation-building, would actually get misused as an instrument for an unpragmatic nation-building process.
The intentional and incorrect use of that "destroys the traditional social bonds of the extended family, the
clan or the ethnic group and institutes a direct relationship between individuals and the nation-state, a
process that often eventually leads to conflict." (Matsumoto 2008, 66) It would also create hate towards
the homeland and the citizens of different ideas by individuals. Using education and textbooks for nation-
building with incorrect or inappropriate materials can have detrimental consequences. It may create a
false sense of national identity and fake history, causing misunderstandings and conflicts within the
nation. It could also lead to a society that is closed-minded and intolerant of diverse perspectives, resulting
in increased polarization and social unrest, as well as a lack of critical thinking skills and the ability to
engage in constructive dialogue. The use of education and textbooks for propaganda can also negatively
impact the quality of education overall and discourage people from seeking further learning. Furthermore,
when teachers are expected to act as religious clerks/officials in the school, it ultimately shifts the focus
of the educational system away from formal to informal and from modern teaching and learning methods,
such as differentiation, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning, flipped
classrooms, gamification, collaborative learning, blended learning, and more importantly co-education.

Notwithstanding, "encouraging Afghans to learn, to question, and to be practical, can improve their
agency with regards to nation-building." (Akhlaq 2022, 71) Thus, this paper claims that by biased and
unprofessional curriculum modification, the Afghan conflict would be further fueled through neo-Taliban
nation-building that would firstly empower the notion of "us" versus "them" as enemies, deepening the
conflict between 'traditionists' versus 'modernists' in person and in media, and immensely cuts the
representation of all those who have the right to be represented and voices to be heard among all

26
Referring to the first rule of the Taliban over Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
27
Referring to the second rule of the Taliban over Afghanistan from 15 August 2021 to the Present.

37
stakeholders of the nation-state named Afghanistan. Importantly, it would create a generation of narrow-
minded individuals willing to die for the sake of others, just as it did during Mujahideen's experience.
Recruitment for terror and horror would be achieved easily as this type of nation-building through
textbooks as its component could create feelings of resentment and radicalization among some members
of the population, making them more susceptible to recruitment by militant groups. For the last claim,
the Taliban's potential influence over the Afghan education system and textbooks have severe
implications for the country's heterogeneous cultural population. This would prevent stakeholders from
voicing their opinions and prevent them from showing their true identities. We no longer have a
functioning civil society. Almost all Hindus and Sikhs left the country because they felt their safety and
civil liberties were being threatened. Half of Afghanistan's population is female; however, they are not
allowed to get an education or a job. One day, when the textbooks are updated, the reasoning for this
and similar prohibitions may make it into classrooms. As time goes on, textbooks will be employed to
disseminate fabricated and biased rationales. Textbooks would then be used to justify these rationales,
related actions, and ideas imposed on any stakeholder in the nation-state based on numerous religious
justifications that are false, disputed, and debatable.

38
Conclusion
During its modern nation-statehood, Afghanistan has its education system divided into ‘formal’ and
‘informal’ education categories. Both systems have been experiencing vicissitude due to the pursuant of
the state- or ruler-led policies on Islamization or de-Islamization of education or pursuant of specific
political agendas/doctrine. The ‘informal’ institutions are the non-state and traditional ones, such as
madrasas, mosques, and homes. The ‘formal’ institutions are modern or state-run schools and
universities. With the United States and its allies' intervention in Afghanistan in 2001, which led to the
overthrow of the Taliban in the late 2001, a new chapter in the fluctuation within Afghanistan's
educational categories was opened. Due to the years of civil war blocking the path to education for both
men and women and the country's large number of illiterates, this intervention prepared the way for a
rule in which education was given particular attention.

In the aftermath of the Taliban’s withdrawal from power, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was
established as a democratic regime, which was short-lived, lasted for twenty years, and was toppled by
the Taliban. This research was conducted using a mixed-method approach due to the lack of research on
the fluctuation of education during the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the pressing necessity to
analyze the present situation of education under the second reign of the Taliban.

The results of the research show that the Islamic Republic, with the assistance of both Afghan and foreign
professionals, developed plans to enhance education in the country, particularly concerning the
production of strategic documents. These initiatives led to the creation of updated and improved
textbooks with better quality and content compared to previous versions. However, despite these efforts,
various challenges hindered progress toward the motivation of better education. These challenges
included insecurity caused by the Taliban-ISIS-K nexus, cultural barriers stemming from certain family
beliefs in some provinces, scarcity and plundering of resources, and excessive corruption, both disclosed
and undisclosed, all of which slowed down progress in the education sector. The study's analysis indicates
that due to the Taliban's reemergence to power through the Doha agreement with the United States and
the imposition of restrictive measures on education, girls and women are primarily affected, and the
entire Afghan community suffers as well. It is uncertain and could be examined whether the United States
had no reason to assume that the Taliban would not respect its promises, commitments and violate the
implementation of the agreement, inter alia as far as respecting the right to education.

The research proposed three different theoretical approaches (non-framed, framed, and state-led) to
curriculum and textbook design while also exploring the typical methods employed by a government
when implementing one of such approaches. Furthermore, by examining the Taliban’s curriculum and
textbook modification plan (categorized as a ‘state-led’ approach) and analyzing the Taliban's proposed
changes to the curriculum and textbooks, the study shows that the Taliban's modifications of textbooks
and curriculum promote hostility, intolerance, close-mindedness, and irrational justifications, which are
being instilled in the minds of Afghan students, and transmitted from classrooms to homes. Additionally,
the study discovered that the total number of female students who are unable to attend school,
encompassing the 12th-grade students of 2022 and all 2023 secondary school girls, is estimated to be
around 2.6 million.

39
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