Taliban advances shatter the dream of higher education

With Taliban insurgents extending their grip on previously government-controlled areas across war-ravaged Afghanistan as United States and NATO troops depart, aspiring young Afghans’ hopes for higher education are diminishing.

They feel they are witnessing the many gains of the past couple of decades of relative peace slipping away as efforts to reach a political settlement fails to yield results and the war steadily engulfs previously peaceful territories.

Within weeks of US President Joe Biden’s announcement of the exit of US troops back in May, the Taliban have marched on to capture almost half of Afghanistan’s nearly 400 districts. Among the fallen towns and villages are many areas of the central highlands and northern provinces perceived to be relatively safe and progressive, resulting in grim unrest among the young and educated there.

The Taliban’s shadow ‘Education Commission’ in a statement last month vowed not to harm the higher education system and said instead it would promote and strengthen it. But young Afghans are fearful and many are fleeing the fighting in areas coming under Taliban control.

Interrupted studies

Teenager Fazila Ashna was preparing for the university entrance examinations when she had to pack and flee for the capital Kabul amid fierce street battles in Maalistan, her home town in central Afghanistan.

But it has been difficult for her to resume her studies in a city where she does not know anyone and uncertainty prevails. "My mother could not bring all of my nice clothes and shoes that I loved wearing because we all fear the Taliban might take over and we would be forced to wear the burqa (full-body veil)”, she told University World News tearfully.

The Taliban governed around three-quarters of Afghan territory from 1996 until 2001. Until it was ousted by US troops after the 11 September attacks in the US, the Taliban enforced Sharia law including strict curbs on women and girls’ education, attire, behaviour and work. Many were confined to their homes.

With other affiliated militant groups, it went on to wage a long campaign of violent attacks on schools, killings of and death threats against teachers – involving hundreds of reported attacks every year in some periods, including more than 600 in 2009 alone – and forced closures of schools across whole provinces.

There were also isolated incidents of bombings of universities, as the Education under Attack studies, published by UNESCO and the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack have documented.

Despite the circumstances of her being in Kabul, Ashna said she loves the array of book shops and the many public and private education institutions in the bustling metropolis.

“I have always wanted to become an engineer. I dream of building a 10-story home for my family in the heart of Kabul and (to be able to) see the beautiful city from its rooftop every night.”

No wish to migrate again

Her mother, Fahimeh Ashna, while praising her daughter’s hard work and love for higher studies, said it breaks her heart to see the situation deteriorate so drastically.

“In our youth (during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s to early 1990s) we migrated out of Afghanistan, but we really do not want to migrate again. We pray to Allah that peace prevails and youngsters like Fazila can pursue their education dreams within their own country.”

Jawed Sultani, who was studying English literature at the local university in central Ghazni province, is also watching his dreams shatter.

In fighting between the government forces and Taliban insurgents last week, a mortar hit a home in his Ghazni neighbourhood, which also cracked the roof of his home and panicked the entire family. The fighting continued for at least four days and, as soon as a relative calm prevailed on the fifth day, the family rushed to Kabul with whatever they could carry in their hands.

“I have almost given up on my dreams of higher education in London. What worries me now is the safety of my parents, and the future of my younger siblings who cannot properly complete their schooling either,” Sultani told University World News, a sense of despair evident in his eyes.

Just two years ago, when a makeshift refugee camp was built in Ghazni province, Sultani moved there with his parents in the hope of a new start to life after decades of living miserably as refugees in neighbouring Pakistan.

“Although we had little means and resources, our spirits were high as we planned to build a small yet neat and beautiful two-room home on the patch of land the government granted us upon return to Afghanistan,” he said.

Fear of the past Taliban takeover

During the early years of their repatriation, things went well. Sultani finished high school and went on to secure a seat in Ghazni University’s Faculty of English Literature following the tough Kankoor university entrance tests.

Thanks to his keen interest and exposure to English during refugee days in Pakistan, Sultani said he excelled quickly and even managed to get a job as a language instructor at a private institution in the city which had temporarily fallen to Taliban insurgents three times in the past.

He even dared to dream of going on to study at university in London but was jolted out of his dreams when the armed Taliban captured Ghazni back in 2018.

In the summer of that year, a fierce battle broke out between government forces and the Taliban. Although the government denied the city was briefly in Taliban hands, Sultani said in reality the Taliban had complete control of the city for nearly two days before fleeing.

“Now, as fighting has intensified again, I hardly leave home to go to study or teach,” he said recalling the previous Taliban onslaught. Memories of the civil war of the early 1990s and fears of a Taliban takeover have begun to haunt them.

Forced to abandon their newly built home of beautiful colours, flowers and dreams, the family has been sheltering in Kabul at a relative’s place for a month now, with little hope for peace.

Taliban control

According to the latest Long War Journal estimates, the Taliban has taken control of more than 100 districts in the two months since launching its offensive against the Afghan government after Biden announced the US would withdraw its forces by September. In practice, the US withdrawal has been much swifter.

LWJ estimates suggest the Taliban controls 168 districts in Afghanistan and the Afghan government has control over 79, while 151 more districts remain contested. It said an estimated 10.9 million Afghans are living in areas under government control while 10.3 million are in areas under the Taliban and 11.6 million are residing in restive and contested areas.

The Taliban’s multi-year strategy of gaining influence in rural districts to then pressure the population centres is paying dividends, LWJ said last week.

In many cases, Afghan security forces have turned over district centres, abandoned military bases, surrendered to the Taliban and handed over their weapons, vehicles and other war material without a fight.

Estimates by the country’s National Statistics and Information Authority suggest up to 63.7% of Afghans are under 25 years of age when many would normally be in education or higher education. The country’s education system is heavily reliant on international aid.