Afghanistan: 110 graduate from Taliban's jihadist school in Balkh province, says report

A total of 110 students graduated from the Taliban's jihadist school in the Balkh province of Afghanistan, a report by Afghanistan International said on Tuesday (January 31) citing the Bakhtar News Agency. The report said as per public statements made by the Taliban's education minister, the Islamic Emirate will establish three to 10 such schools in each district of Afghanistan.

An order attributed to the Taliban's Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada divulged more details about the formation and expenses of the jihadist schools. The order said that each school will have 10 teachers and eight staff members, adding 500-1,000 students will be trained each semester. A salary scale of 15,000 to 25,000 Afghan Afghani(the currency of Afghanistan)has been approved for the staff members. The students, meanwhile, 150 Afghaniper day.

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The Afghanistan International report also said that the jihadist schools' salaries are not comparable to public school teachers’ salaries, adding that a public school teacher, with an undergraduate degree, receives only 9,000 Afghani as salary.

In August this year, the Taliban will mark two years of being the ruling administration in Afghanistan. In recent times, the Islamic Emirate has faced global condemnation over the restrictions imposed on females- the latest being a ban on university education and prohibiting Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) from working with Afghan women.

On Wednesday (February 1), the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new visa restrictions against the Taliban in response to the bans. "I am taking action today to impose additional visa restrictions on certain current or former Taliban members, members of non-state security groups, and other individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, repressing women and girls in Afghanistan," Blinken said in a statement, news agency AFP reported.

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And on Tuesday, Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations (UN) said that following his recent discussions with the Taliban, they would create a set of written guidelines to allow aid groups to operate with female staff in more areas with certainty in coming weeks.

Addressing a press conference, Griffiths said, "We were told that guidelines are being developed by the Taliban authorities, which would allegedly provide the role of functioning of women in humanitarian operations," news agency Reuters reported.

"Let's see if these guidelines do come through. Let's see if they are beneficial. Let's see what space there is for the essential and central role of women in our humanitarian operations. Everybody has opinions as to whether it's going to work or not. Our view is that the message has clearly been delivered. Women are central, essential workers in the humanitarian sector in addition to having rights, and we need to see them back to work," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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