Boys & Girls Separated By Curtains In Afghan Classrooms After Taliban Takeover

While Taliban have promised to have a more 'inclusive' government and approach to ruling the country, the situation is unlikely to change for women. After the universities reopened in Afghanistan, several visuals surfaced online showing male and female students separated by a curtain fixed in the middle of their classrooms.

This comes after the Taliban issued a diktat stating that the classes must be segregated by sex or at least divided by a curtain. The diktat also instructed women attending universities to wear an abaya robe and niqab.

The Taliban diktat also stated that female students should only be taught by other women, but if that was not possible then "old men" of good character could fill in. Furthermore, the Taliban order also instructed women to use separate exit points and end their lessons five minutes earlier than men till a male member of their family comes to accompany them home.

This move was to ensure that there is no mingling of the male and female classmates after lessons. The Taliban mentioned that the decree, applies to private colleges and universities, which have proliferated since their first rule ended in 2001.