Turkish organization commits to building 5 religious seminaries in Afghanistan

Oct 30, 2022

Kabul [Afghanistan], October 30 : Turkish organization, Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) on Saturday committed to building five religious seminaries in Afghanistan.
The Taliban Ministry of Education welcomed the initiative by AIDF as a "major step" and stated that the ministry will offer all of the available facilities required for the project's implementation, reported Khaama Press.
The organization would build five religious schools in five different provinces of the country in accordance with the MoU.
Habibullah Agha, the Taliban Minister of Education, and Sheikh Mohammad Toran, the organization's head signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Kabul, the Afghan capital, reported Khaama Press.
Each of these religious seminaries will be established at a cost of USD 25,000 throughout five provinces, according to the ministry's statement.
Each school will feature four classrooms, a perimeter wall, a mosque, a drinking water supply system, and other necessary amenities, the ministry stated in a statement.
It is worth noting that after the Taliban took power, the number of religious schools built surged in many areas of Afghanistan, with specific emphasis placed on the construction and refurbishment of religious institutions, reported Khaama Press.
At the same time, about half of Afghanistan's schools have been closed, and girls in grades above the sixth have been barred from attending since the group took control.
This comes as a number of women gathered in Kabul once again to renew the call on reopening girls' schools, while the Taliban has deprived them of receiving education for over 400 days.
Several human rights and education activists had urged world leaders in an open letter recently to mount diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools for girls in the war-torn country as the Taliban's brutal regime in Afghanistan will soon complete a year in August.
Young girls and women have been compromising with their aspirations as it has been almost 400 days since their development has been distorted, the activists said adding, that if this situation persists, their aims and hopes will suffer greatly, reported Khaama Press.
World leaders, regional allies, and international organizations were urged in the letter to take serious actions to fulfill their commitments in order to promote and protect Afghan girls' rights, especially the right to education which was snatched away from them after the Taliban-led Afghan government banned the education for girls in classes 6 and above.