KABUL: Afghanistan’s main universities reopened on Saturday, six months after the Taliban returned to power, but only a trickle of women returned to attend now-segregated classes.

Most secondary schools for girls and all public universities were shuttered following the Taliban’s August 15 takeover of the country, sparking fears women would be barred from education — as happened during the Islamists’ first rule from 1996 to 2001.

The Taliban insist they will allow girls and women to be educated this time around — but only in segregated classes and according to an Islamic curriculum.

Some public tertiary institutions in the south of the country resumed functioning last month, but on Saturday Kabul University, the oldest and biggest with a student body of around 25,000 last year, reopened without fanfare and with only few students in attendance.

Taliban guards denied journalists access to the sprawling campus and chased away media teams lingering near the entrance.

A correspondent, however, spoke to some students away from the gates, who expressed mixed feelings after their first day back.

“I am happy that the university resumed... we want to continue our studies,” said an English major who asked to be identified only as Basira.

But she said there were “some difficulties” — including students being scolded by Taliban guards for bringing their mobile phones to class. “They did not behave well with us... they were rude,” she said.

Another English student, Maryam, said only seven women attended her class. “Before we were 56 students, boys and girls,” she said.

There was also a shortage of lecturers, she said, adding: “Maybe because some have left the country.”

A similar picture emerged from campuses across the country, although no students returned to class at Panjshir University, in the heartland of a nascent resistance to the Taliban’s rule.

“I do not know if they will come tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, or not,” said Prof Noor-ur-Rehman Afzali.

Panjshir was the last province to fall to the Taliban last year, and Jaber Jibran, a faculty head, said several classrooms destroyed in that fighting had still not been repaired.

The Taliban have said previously that women students must wear a black ‘abaya’ over their bodies and hijab on their heads, but stopped short of insisting on the all-covering burqa that was compulsory during their previous rule.

Several students, however, appeared dressed no differently on Saturday than they would have before the Taliban takeover, with a simple shawl covering their heads.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2022