In a Kabul madrasa, rows of teenage girls sway back and forth reciting verses from the Koran, under the watchful eye of a religious scholar.
Quranic schools have sprung up across Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 and banned teenage girls from studying in secondary schools.
“We were depressed because we were denied an education,” says Farah. She is 16 years old and wears a black veil and mask to hide her hair and lower face, with glitter nail polish.
"That's when my family decided that I should at least come here. The only place we have left accessible to us now is a madrasa," continues the schoolgirl, whose name has been changed to protect her identity. like those of the other girls interviewed by AFP.
AFP journalists visited three madrasas in Kabul and Kandahar (south), where the number of female students has doubled since last year according to teachers.
Instead of math and literature, the girls focus on memorizing the Koran in Arabic, a language most of them don't understand.
Those who want to learn the meaning of the verses study separately with a teacher who translates and explains them in their language.
Farah saw her ambition to become a lawyer dashed when the Taliban authorities barred girls from attending secondary school and then banned women from entering university.
“Each of us has lost our dreams”, testifies the young girl who studies in a crowded classroom.
Most of the students sit on the floor behind small tables and take turns reciting different verses from the Koran.
The Taliban, whose government is not recognized by any country, defend an austere interpretation of Islam.
Decisions are made by Hibatullah Akhundzada, their reclusive supreme leader, and his inner circle of religious advisers opposed to the education of girls and women, officials say.
Akhundzada, who is working to establish an Islamic emirate based on Sharia (Islamic law), ordered the construction of hundreds of new madrasas.
To justify their decision to close schools to girls, the authorities invoked in particular the need to have separate classes with boys and Islamic uniforms, two measures that are already widespread.
They also assure that schools will eventually reopen.
Education is the main stumbling block with the international community which has repeatedly condemned restrictions on freedom for women and girls.
Hosna, a former medical student, now teaches at a madrasa in Kandahar province. She reads verses from the Quran to a class of over 30 girls who repeat the words after her.
"Studying at university allows you to build a future, to become aware of your rights", she says. "There is no future in the madrasas. They study here because they are helpless."
The classrooms of the madrasa, located in an old building, have no electricity. Despite the financial constraints faced by the school management, dozens of students attend classes free of charge.
The educational value of madrasas is hotly debated, with experts claiming that students learn nothing there that would enable them to gain gainful employment as adults.
"Under current conditions, the need for modern education is a priority," insists Abdul Bari Madani, a scholar who is often a guest on local channels to discuss religious issues.
"Efforts must be made in this direction so that the Islamic world is not left behind (...). Abandoning modern education is tantamount to betraying the nation," he said.
Around the world, some madrasas have been accused of regimentation.
Many of the current Taliban leaders were educated at the Darul Uloom Haqqania Madrasa in Pakistan, dubbed "the university of jihad" ("holy war").
Head of Islamic studies in the education department of Kandahar province, Niamatullah Ulfat explains that the government "is thinking day and night about how to increase the number of madrasas".
"The idea is to bring the new generation of this country into the world with good training, good teaching and good ethics," he told AFP.
Yalda, whose father is an engineer and mother was a teacher before the return of the Taliban, was first in her class at her old school and still shines at the madrasa. In fifteen months, she learned the Koran by heart.
"A madrasa cannot help me become a doctor," the 16-year-old girl explained. "But it's still a good thing. It's good for broadening our religious knowledge."
Her madrasa, on the outskirts of Kabul, is divided into two blocks, one for girls and the other for boys. Classes are held at different times to avoid any interaction between the two sexes.
Going to a madrasa is stimulating and also makes it possible to have friends, explain several girls.
“I tell myself that one day the schools could open and that I could resume my studies,” says Sara. And if not, she is determined to learn one way or another.
"Now that there are smartphones and the Internet (...) schools are not the only way to learn," she adds.
16/03/2023 09:49:34 - Kabul (AFP) © 2023 AFP
