Female teachers in northeastern Panjshir Province say that the Taliban-controlled Education Directorate in this province is forbidding female teachers from entering its premises without a legal mahram (male companion).
According to accounts shared with KabulNow on Friday, female teachers have been encountering difficulties since last week, as Taliban authorities enforce the requirement for a male companion when entering the provincial Education Directorate.
A female teacher, who didn’t want to be named, revealed that security guards, acting on instructions from the Taliban’s head of the Education Directorate, are denying entry to female teachers without a mahram. The teacher recounted her recent experience when she attempted to submit her annual evaluation documents at the Panjshir Education Directorate. Despite her professional obligations, she was denied entry into the premises.
Fakhria (not her real name), another teacher from Panjshir province, shared a similar account, stating that her colleague and her sister were also prevented from entering the Education Directorate without a male companion.
According to these teachers, the new restrictions pose significant challenges to female teachers, particularly considering the substantial exodus of young people and men from Panjshir due to unemployment and insecurity.
Residents of the province also express concerns about the hardships these new regulations place on female teachers who lack a mahram at home.
The Taliban has not officially commented on this matter thus far.
Since assuming control of Afghanistan, the Taliban has enforced a series of restrictions, including preventing girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade, closing universities to female students, and imposing limitations on women’s activities, such as visiting parks, traveling unaccompanied, and engaging in employment.
However, the specific prohibition on female teachers entering a government office without a mahram is a new development in Panjshir province.
