Taliban `to allow girls education`: minister
Baku, January 15 (AZERTAC). The Taliban is to drop its opposition to the education of girls in Afghanistan, the country`s education minister has told British media.
According to AFP, Farooq Wardak said in an interview with the TES (Times Education Supplement) that a "cultural change" meant the Taliban were no longer opposed to girls going to school. He said an agreement had been worked out in discussions with the Taliban.
Afghan women were banned from working or getting an education under the Taliban regime which was overthrown in the 2001 US-led invasion of the country.
Wardak told the TES: "It is attitudinal change, it is behavioural change, it is cultural change.
"What I am hearing at the very upper policy level of the Taliban is that they are no more opposing education and also girls` education."
He added: "I hope, Inshallah, soon there will be a peaceful negotiation, a meaningful negotiation with our own opposition and that will not compromise at all the basic human rights and basic principles which have been guiding us to provide quality and balanced education to our people."
The minister, who spoke to the TES at the Education World Forum in London, claimed there had been significant shifts in attitude towards education since the Taliban was toppled and insisted that they would not be reversed.
However, he conceded that Afghanistan had a huge task ahead. In more than 400 districts and urban centres in Afghanistan, 200 still have no girls enrolled in high school, he said.
In 245 districts there are no qualified female teachers.
The key to improving the situation was improving security, he said.
"We need to improve the security situation tomorrow.
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