Fears of increased violence in Afghanistan after Taliban’s decision to close schools in Helmand and Kandahar

Mohamed Yosry

Afghanistan has suffered from violence and civil wars for many decades, the causes of which continue and are increasing day by day under the current Taliban government, which is practicing a lot of provocations against citizens in many files, foremost of which is the education file, whether the education of girls or boys, as well as placing restrictions on schools, to the extent that secret schools have emerged in many areas.

Helmand and Kandahar flare up

Kandahar is considered the main center of the Taliban movement and its central leadership. Despite the presence of the official institutions of the state in the Afghan capital, Kabul, orders and instructions are still issued from Kandahar, where Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the movement, resides. During the second week of April, the movement imposed a set of severe restrictions on all local education centers in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

Local media confirmed that Taliban Education Minister Mullah Nada Mohammad Nadeem issued a circular to all education sectors in the two states to close all educational centers until the completion of the study of their activities, and the ministry said that it had formed a committee to study the activities of these centers, which were closed indefinitely.

The ministry indicated that the committee will submit its report to the ministry, which will then be submitted to Mullah Akhundzada.

International organizations established these educational centers about two years ago to compensate for the education crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power, aiming to address the problems of children dropping out of education in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

Constant intransigence

The Taliban has put the education file on its list of activities and is working to bring about a radical change in the educational curricula and in the formation of schools, on top of which is preventing girls from education. The current Minister of Education in the Taliban movement, Mullah Nadeem, stated that he refuses for girls to complete their university education.

He pointed out that the movement would not accept this, even if Afghanistan was attacked by nuclear bombs, and that they are ready for any sanctions from the international community in return for not abandoning this principle.

It is now nearly two years since girls beyond the sixth grade have been prevented from completing their education.

In contrast to the centers of Helmand and Kandahar, secret schools have also spread in other provinces to compensate for this problem. However, local reports indicate that the movement is also pursuing these schools to prevent girls’ education once and for all.

Strangely, other local reports stated that Taliban leaders are violating the teachings of the movement in order to complete the education of their daughters in those secret schools.

Anticipation of an increase in violence

Observers warn of an increase in violence in the two regions and in other provinces of Afghanistan following recent decisions that prevented boys from completing their education.

Mohamed Abadi, a researcher in international affairs, said that education is one of the most important mechanisms that work to prevent violence, and that the Taliban movement is thus creating new forms of violent currents in the country.

Abadi pointed out in exclusive statements to the Reference that these decisions create two types of crises in Afghanistan. The first is that it creates hostility to the Taliban movement itself, and then it is easy to cause reactions that are not in favor of the Taliban, making young people easy prey for joining the armed groups opposed to the movement.

He stressed that the second type of these crises is the emergence of new entities that adopt violence against the movement and against society as a whole, as education and culture are the first wall against confronting violent and extremist ideas.