In Afghanistan, Taliban ban on girls’ education leaves thousands of classrooms empty

Special In Afghanistan, Taliban ban on girls’ education leaves thousands of classrooms empty
This file photo shows an empty classroom of a school in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 31, 2022. (AP Photo)
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Updated 28 July 2024
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In Afghanistan, Taliban ban on girls’ education leaves thousands of classrooms empty

In Afghanistan, Taliban ban on girls’ education leaves thousands of classrooms empty
  • About 1.1 million girls denied access to formal education since Taliban ban in 2021
  • Afghanistan had about 4,000 secondary and high schools for girls

KABUL: Before the Taliban suspended secondary education for girls, some of Salma’s friends had attended her school in Kabul with their older sisters. But after the ban was imposed almost three years ago, they stopped going to classes altogether.

“They didn’t want to come alone. It’s sad to lose my friends,” Salma, who is now in the fifth grade, told Arab News.

She also recalled visiting the classrooms for older girls, located on the second floor, with her friends back then — something she no longer does because the level has been empty since the ban. It reminded the 12-year-old of the future that lies ahead for her.

“It’s even more upsetting to think that we will not be able to come to our school after two years. We will graduate after grade six and then there will be no future for us after that,” she said.

Since September 2021 — a month after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan — girls have been prohibited from attending secondary school, resulting in about 1.1 million girls being denied access to formal education and leaving thousands of classrooms and buildings empty.

“Girls’ schools are active only up to the sixth grade. The rest of the classes — seventh through 12th grades — are … not being used,” an official from the Afghan Ministry of Education told Arab News. “The remaining buildings are non-functional.”

Afghanistan officially recognized about 20,000 schools as of August 2022, of which only about half had functional buildings and about 5,000 were damaged after the war, data from the education ministry showed. Meanwhile, according to official estimates, there were about 4,000 secondary and high schools for girls in the country before the education ban was put in place.

With classrooms and buildings that once housed the older girls now empty, they could instead be used to accommodate more girls in lower grades, said Najla Ahmadzai, a public school teacher in Kabul.

“Previously, we didn’t have sufficient space to admit more girl students. We had very low admission rates. Now that we have more space, we can admit more girls, especially in grades one to three,” she told Arab News, adding that the unused spaces can bring about “positive change.”

But even then, the empty classrooms previously used by girls in higher grades “makes my heart ache,” she said.

“It’s painful and unbelievable for me as a teacher and as a mother. I think about my own daughters but also about the daughters of the country. They have the right to get an education and deserve to be a part of society.”

The abandoned buildings are painful reminders of what was taken from girls like Bibi Laila, who, at 16, is among those who are not allowed to attend school.

“Instead of using the buildings to educate girls, especially older girls, they are just empty and turning into scary spaces because no one has gone there for the past three years,” Laila said.

“We have schools, we have buildings, we have teachers, books and everything. We can go to school starting tomorrow. But the (Taliban) policy is stopping me and thousands of other girls from becoming educated and achieving our dreams and hopes.”

Neither appeals at home nor international pressure on the Taliban administration have helped to lift the ban, which authorities have repeatedly said was an “internal matter.” The ban was later extended to universities also, with more than 100,000 female students blocked from completing their degrees.

“If we don’t go back to school we are becoming illiterate,” Laila said. “We are very sad but we can’t do anything. I think people in the country and the world are forgetting us.”


Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties

Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties
Updated 31 sec ago
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Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties

Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties
  • “Despite the temporary setback, we must keep our relationships strong. Ghana remains in strong solidarity with Mali,” Mahama added

ACCRA: Ghana’s president and Mali’s prime minister have committed to strengthening relations in the face of rising extremist violence and instability across West Africa.
The northern part of Ghana, as well as nearby Togo and Benin, is increasingly faced with incursions by extremist groups based in the Sahel. “Our security is a common objective, and we must work with each other to ensure our subregion is safe,” Ghana’s John Mahama told the press after meeting with Gen. Abdoulaye Maiga in the capital, Accra.
“If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you must assist them to quench it; otherwise, it will spread to yours.” The Ghanaian leader also acknowledged the recent formation of the Alliance of Sahel States by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, a defense pact formed after the three junta-led states withdrew from the regional West African bloc ECOWAS.
“Despite the temporary setback, we must keep our relationships strong. Ghana remains in strong solidarity with Mali,” Mahama added.
Maiga praised Ghana’s essential role in promoting pan-Africanism — a central theme of the military leaders who have taken power in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all of whom have turned away from former colonial ruler France.
“The fight for African sovereignty aligns with the vision of President Mahama. We thank him ... for Ghana’s unwavering support,” the general said.
The visit shows the normalization of relations between the three AES states and their neighbors after coups and their ECOWAS exit strained ties.
It also came as Togo’s foreign minister refused to rule out joining the AES, which would give the currently landlocked security and defense pact access to the Atlantic Ocean.

 


Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse

Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
Updated 17 January 2025
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Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse

Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
  • Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court
  • All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds

LONDON: Nine people appeared in a London court on Friday to deny offenses including burglary, criminal damage, violent disorder and hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer, over an incident at a warehouse linked to Israeli defense firm Elbit.
The nine, who prosecutors have said were activists from the protest organization Palestine Action, are accused of smashing their way into the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August.
At a previous hearing, prosecutors said a repurposed prison van was used to smash through fencing before some of the group damaged items in the warehouse using sledgehammers.
Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court. All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds.
Seven of them also denied a charge of violent disorder, while one, Simon Corner, pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, for allegedly striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
Another nine people also charged with offenses over the incident appeared at Friday’s hearing but did not enter pleas.
The first trial involving eight of the defendants is due to start in November, with the others appearing at two subsequent trials. A hearing will also be held to determine whether the cases should be treated as a terrorism matter.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have repeatedly targeted Elbit Systems UK and other defense firms in Britain linked to Israel in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.
Palestine Action has said the targeted site was Elbit’s new 35 million-pound ($43 million) research and development hub. Elbit’s website says its UK subsidiary employs 680 people at 16 sites, working on multiple programs for the British military.


Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold
Updated 17 January 2025
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Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold
  • “The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform
  • “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way”

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump may take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of intense cold weather.
“The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way.”
The Rotunda is prepared as the inclement weather alternative for each inauguration in the event of inclement weather. The swearing-in was last moved indoors in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan began his second term. Monday’s forecast calls for the lowest inauguration day temperatures since that day.
Alternate plans are required for the more roughly 250,000 guests ticketed to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds and the tens of thousands more expected to be in general admission areas or to line the inaugural parade route from the Capitol to the White House.
Trump said some supporters would be able to watch the ceremony from Washington’s Capital One area on Monday, a day after he plans to hold a rally there. He said he would visit the arena after his swearing-in.
The National Weather Service is predicting the temperature to be around 22 degrees (minus-6 Celsius) at noon during the swearing-in, the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration saw temperatures plunge to 7 degrees (minus-14 Celsius). Barack Obama’s 2009 swearing-in was 28 degrees (minus-2 Celsius). Adding to the bite: Wind is forecast to be 30 to 35 mph (48 to 56 kph), sending wind chills into the single digits.
Trump’s inaugural committee and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud

Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud
Updated 17 January 2025
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Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud

Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud
  • Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, denies committing fraud
  • Opposition parties on Friday called on Santanche to resign

ROME: Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche will stand trial for alleged falsification of financial statements at her former publishing company, a Milan judge ruled Friday.
Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, denies committing fraud during her time as chair and CEO of Visibilia, a media publisher and advertising agency.
She is the second Meloni minister to stand trial after Transport Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who was cleared in December over charges relating to his detention of a migrant boat as part of a different government.
“Prosecutors claim the forecasts in the (company’s) business plan were overly optimistic,” Santanche’s lawyer Nicolo Pelanda told reporters at the court.
“It leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouths but we are convinced that we can prove Santanche’s lack of involvement,” he said.
The trial will begin in March.
Opposition parties on Friday called on Santanche to resign. If she does, she would be the second Meloni minister to step down, after a sex scandal last year toppled the culture minister.
Meloni refused last month to confirm whether Santanche would remain in her post if ordered to stand trial.
Santanche is also caught up in two other investigations, including one for alleged benefit fraud.
Milan prosecutors allege Visibilia, which Santanche sold before joining Meloni’s administration in 2022, pocketed government redundancy funds during the coronavirus pandemic for staff members who instead continued to work.
Italy’s highest court will decide at the end of the month whether that case should be transferred from Milan to Rome, after which there will be decision as to whether or not she should stand trial.
Prosecutors are also investigating Santanche over the bankruptcy of organics food company Ki Group-Bioera, which she used to co-manage.


Russia sentences Navalny lawyers to years behind bars

Russia sentences Navalny lawyers to years behind bars
Updated 17 January 2025
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Russia sentences Navalny lawyers to years behind bars

Russia sentences Navalny lawyers to years behind bars
  • Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin were found guilty of participating in an “extremist organization” by a court in the town of Petushki
  • Kobzev, the most high-profile member of Navalny’s legal team, was given five and a half years

PETUSHKI, Russia: Russia on Friday sentenced three lawyers who had defended Alexei Navalny to several years in prison for bringing messages from the late opposition leader from prison to the outside world.
The case, which comes amid a massive crackdown on dissent during the Ukraine offensive, has alarmed rights groups who fear Moscow will ramp up trials against legal representatives in addition to jailing their clients.
The Kremlin has sought to punish Navalny’s associates even after his unexplained death in an Arctic prison colony last February.
Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin were found guilty of participating in an “extremist organization” by a court in the town of Petushki.
Kobzev, the most high-profile member of Navalny’s legal team, was given five and a half years, while Liptser was handed five and Sergunin three and a half years.
They were almost the only people visiting Navalny in prison while he served his 19-year sentence.
Navalny, Putin’s main political opponent, communicated with the world by transmitting messages through his lawyers, which his team then published on social media.
Passing letters and messages through lawyers is a normal practice in Russian prisons.
Navalny’s exiled widow Yulia Navalnaya said the lawyers were “political prisoners and should be freed immediately.”
Navalny’s team has accused prison authorities of having secretly filmed Navalny’s meetings with his lawyers, which are meant to be confidential. His team published footage of the meetings on social media to support their claim.
The Netherlands said that pursuing the lawyers marked a “new low point in the already dire human rights situation” in Russia. Germany said that “even those meant to defend others before the law face harsh persecution.”
Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy posted on X: “Nearly a year on from Navalny’s death, the Russian authorities continue to crush any dissent...
“The UK and our partners are clear: the Kremlin must release all political prisoners.”
The men were sentenced after a closed-door trial in the town of Petushki — a town about 115 kilometers (72 miles) east of Moscow — near the Pokrov prison where Navalny was held before he was moved to a remote colony above the Arctic Circle.
“We are on trial for passing Navalny’s thoughts to other people,” Kobzev said in court last week, Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported.
A statement from the court said they had “used their status as lawyers while visiting convict Navalny... to ensure the regular transfer of information between the members of the extremist community, including those wanted and hiding outside the Russian Federation, and Navalny.”
It said this allowed Navalny to plan “crimes with an extremist character” from his maximum-security prison.
In his messages to the outside world, Navalny denounced the Kremlin’s Ukraine offensive as “criminal” and told supporters “not to give up.”
Navalny was himself a lawyer and was known for his tongue-and-cheek speeches in court, attempts to sue officials and long legal tirades defying prosecutors.
He had denounced the arrest of his lawyers in October 2023 as an attempt to further isolate him.
Kobzev last week compared Moscow’s current crackdown on dissent to Stalin-era mass repression.
“Eighty years have passed... and in the Petushki court, people are once again on trial for discrediting officials and the state agencies,” he said.
The OVD rights group that monitors political repression in Russia said Friday that the sentences showed Moscow was now intent on making defending political prisoners — a practice that is still allowed but becoming more difficult — outright dangerous.
“The authorities are now essentially outlawing the defense of politically persecuted people,” the group said.
“Pressure on defense lawyers risks destroying what little is left of the rule of law — the semblance of which the Russian authorities are still trying to maintain.”
The UIA International Lawyers Association has also warned the trial raises questions about the future of the profession in Russia.
The trial “sets a dangerous precedent” in “potentially deterring” lawyers from defending clients in sensitive cases, it said.
Last week, Navalnaya said Russia had refused to remove her husband from its list of terrorists and extremists despite his death.
She published a December letter from Russia’s financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring addressed to Navalny’s mother that said the late opposition leader was still being investigated for money laundering and “financing terrorism.”
“Why does Putin need this? Obviously not to stop Alexei from opening a bank account,” Navalnaya said.
“Putin is doing this to scare you.”