The AP Interview: Taliban pledge all girls in schools soon

KABUL – Afghanistan’s caller Taliban rulers accidental they anticipation to beryllium capable to unfastened each schools for girls crossed the state aft precocious March, their spokesperson told The Associated Press connected Saturday, offering the archetypal timeline for addressing a cardinal request of the planetary community.

Since the Taliban takeover successful mid-August, girls successful astir of Afghanistan person not been allowed backmost to schoolhouse beyond people 7. The planetary community, reluctant to formally admit a Taliban-run administration, is wary they could enforce akin harsh measures arsenic during their erstwhile regularisation 20 years ago. At the time, women were banned from education, enactment and nationalist life.

Zabihullah Mujahid, who is besides the Taliban's lawman curate of civilization and information, said their acquisition departments are looking to unfastened classrooms for each girls and women pursuing the Afghan New Year, which starts connected March 21. Afghanistan, similar neighboring Iran, observers the Islamic star Hijri Shamsi calendar.

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Education for girls and women “is a question of capacity,” Mujahid said successful the interview.

Girls and boys indispensable beryllium wholly segregated successful schools, helium said, adding that the biggest obstacle truthful acold has been uncovering oregon gathering capable dorms, oregon hostels, wherever girls could enactment portion going to school. In heavy populated areas, it is not capable to person abstracted classrooms for boys and girls — abstracted schoolhouse buildings are needed, helium said.

“We are not against education,” Mujahid stressed, speaking astatine a Kabul bureau gathering with marble floors that erstwhile housed Afghan lawyer general’s offices and which the Taliban person adopted for their civilization and accusation ministry.

The Taliban dictates truthful acold person been erratic, varying from state to province. Girls person not been allowed backmost to classrooms successful state-run schools beyond people 7, but successful astir 10 of the country's 34 provinces. In the capital, Kabul, backstage universities and precocious schools person continued to run uninterrupted. Most are tiny and the classes person ever been segregated.

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“We are trying to solves these problems by the coming year,” truthful that schools and universities tin open, Mujahid said.

The planetary assemblage has been skeptical of Taliban announcements, saying it volition justice them by their actions — adjacent arsenic it scrambles to supply billions of dollars to avert a humanitarian catastrophe that the U.N. main this week warned could endanger the lives of millions.

With a breakdown of services and lone sporadic energy successful the bitterly acold Afghan winters, astir radical trust connected firewood and ember for heat. Among the hardest deed are immoderate 3 cardinal Afghans who unrecorded arsenic refugees wrong their ain country, having fled their homes due to the fact that of war, drought, poorness oregon fearfulness of the Taliban.

Earlier this month, the United Nations launched a $5 cardinal entreaty for Afghanistan, the azygous largest entreaty for 1 country.

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Washington has spent $145 cardinal connected reconstruction and improvement projects successful Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led penetration that ousted the Taliban regime. Yet adjacent earlier the Taliban recaptured the country, the poorness complaint was 54% —and a 2018 Gallup canvass revealed unprecedented misery among Afghans.

Mujahid appealed for economical cooperation, commercialized and “stronger diplomatic relations.” So far, neither Afghanistan's neighbors nor the United Nations look acceptable to assistance ceremonial designation which would assistance unfastened up the Afghan economy. However U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for greater economical development, saying it’s captious to rapidly inject liquidity into the Afghan system “and debar a meltdown that would pb to poverty, hunger and destitution for millions.”

The planetary assemblage has called for a much typical authorities that includes women arsenic good arsenic taste and spiritual minorities. While each members of the caller Taliban Cabinet are men and astir are Taliban members, Mujahid said determination are exceptions specified arsenic the lawman concern curate and officials successful the economics ministry who are holdovers from the previous, U.S.-backed administration.

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Mujahid besides said 80% of civilian servants who person returned to enactment were employees nether the erstwhile administration. Women are moving successful the wellness and acquisition assemblage and astatine Kabul International Airport successful customs and passport control, helium added. He did not accidental if oregon erstwhile women would beryllium allowed to instrumentality to enactment successful authorities ministries.

He besides told the AP that astir of the caller government's gross volition travel from customs that the Taliban volition cod astatine borderline crossings with Iran, Pakistan and the Central Asian nations to the north. Without offering figures, helium claimed the Taliban person brought successful much gross successful their archetypal 4 months successful powerfulness than the erstwhile authorities successful implicit a year.

He appealed connected Afghans who person fled to instrumentality to their homeland. Since the takeover, determination person been cases of opponents arrested, journalists beaten, rights workers threatened and demonstrations by women dispersed by heavy equipped Taliban troops firing successful the air.

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Mujahid acknowledged incidents of Taliban members harassing Afghan civilians, including humiliating young men and forcibly cutting their hair.

“Such crimes happen, but it is not the argumentation of our government," helium said, adding that those liable were arrested.

“This is our message. We person nary quality with anyone and we don’t privation anyone to stay successful absorption oregon distant from their country.”

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Kathy Gannon, Associated Press quality manager for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been covering the portion for much than 30 years. Follow her connected Twitter astatine www.twitter.com/Kathygannon

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