Madrassas the only choice for Afghan girls, blocked by school

Amina will never forget the moment her childhood has changed. She was only 12 years old when she was told she could no longer go to school as boys.

The new school year began on Saturday in Afghanistan, but for the fourth consecutive year, girls over 12 were banned from attending lessons.

“All my dreams were broken,” she says with her voice fragile and filled with emotion.

Amin, who is already 15 years old, has always wanted to become a doctor. As a little girl, she suffers from a heart defect and underwent surgery. The surgeon who saved her life was a woman – an image that stayed with her and inspired her to take her education seriously.

But in 2021, when the Taliban detained power in Afghanistan, Amina’s dream was sharply detained.

“When my father told me that the schools were closed, I was really sad. It was a very bad feeling,” she says quietly. “I wanted to get an education so I could become a doctor.”

The restrictions on the education of teenage girls imposed by the Taliban have affected more than one million girls, according to UNICEF, the UN Children’s Agency.

Now Madrassas – religious centers focused on Islamic teachings – have become the only way for many women and teenage girls to have access to education. However, those whose families can afford private training can still have access to topics, including mathematics, science and languages.

While madrasses are considered by some as a way of offering young women accessing part of the education they would have in mass schools, others say they are not substitutes and there are concerns about brainwashing.

I meet the Amina in the poorly lit basement of Al-Hadit Madresa in Kabul, a newly created private religious educational center for about 280 students of different ages.

The basement is cold, with cardboard walls and a sharp cold in the air. After talking for about 10 minutes, our toes are already tingling.

Al-Hadit Madresa was founded a year ago by Amina’s brother Hamid, who felt forced to act after seeing the fee that the ban on her education took.

“When his girls were refused education, my sister’s dream of becoming a heart surgeon was crushed, significantly affecting her well -being,” says Hamid, who is in her early thirty years.

“Having the chance to return to school, as well as to learn a midwife and first aid, made her feel much better in her future,” he adds.

Afghanistan remains the only country where women and girls are banned from secondary and higher education.

Initially, the Taliban government suggested that the ban would be temporary, in anticipation of the implementation of certain conditions, such as an “Islamic” curriculum. However, there is no progress to re -open schools for bigger girls over the years.

In January 2025, a report of the Human Rights Center in Afghanistan suggests that madrasas were used to improve the ideological goals of the Taliban.

The report states that “extremist content” is integrated into their curriculum.

It states that the textbooks advocated by the Taliban promote its political and military activities and prohibit the mixing of men and women, as well as approve of the forced wearing of Hijab.

The Afghan Center for Human Rights Calls the ban on bigger girls who attend the Systematic and Direct Violation School of their right to quality education.

Prior to the return of the Taliban, it is believed that the number of registered madrasas is about 5,000. They focus on religious education, which includes Koran, hadith, Sharia law and Arab language studies.

But since the restrictions on the education of girls have been introduced, some have expanded the teaching of subjects, including chemistry, physics, mathematics and geography, and languages ​​such as Dari, Pasho and English.

Although several Madrassas tried to introduce a midwife and first aid training, the Taliban banned medical training for women in December last year.

Hamid said he was dedicated to providing education, which combines both religious and other academic subjects for girls from high school.

“Communicating with other girls again made my sister much more happily,” he told me with a smile, clearly proud of his sister’s stability.

We visit another independently managed madras in Kabul.

Sheikh Abdul Kadr Gilani Madresa trains more than 1,800 girls and women aged five to 45 years. The classes are organized by the ability of students, not by age. We were able to visit under strict supervision.

Like Al-Katat Madresa, she freezes cold. The three -storey building has no heating, and some classrooms lack doors and windows.

In one large room there are two classes in the Qur’an and a sewing class, as a group of girls wearing hijabs and black face masks are sitting with cross -legs on the carpet.

The only source of heat in the school is a small electric radiator in the office on the second floor of the principal Mohammed Ibrahim Barakzai.

Brakzai tells me that academic subjects are taught together with religious.

But when I want evidence of this, the staff searches for a while before leaving several torn textbooks on mathematics and science.

In the meantime, classrooms are well equipped with religious texts.

This madrasa is divided into two sections: formal and informal.

The official section covers topics such as languages, history, science and Islamic research. The informal section covers Koran research, hadiths, Islamic law and practical skills as sewing.

In particular, the completed informal sections outperform those from the official section with 10 to one.

Hadi, who is 20 years old, recently graduated from Medresa after studying a wide range of subjects, including mathematics, physics, chemistry and geography.

She speaks passionate about chemistry and physics. “I love science. Everything is related to matter and how these concepts relate to the world around me,” she says.

Hadi now teaches the Qur’an in Medres, as he tells me that there is not enough search for her favorite subjects.

Safia, also 20, teaches Pashto’s language in Al-Hadit Madresa. She passionately believes that girls in religious centers should improve what she described as their personal development.

It focuses on FIQH, the Islamic legal framework, essential for everyday Muslim practices.

“FIQH is not included in mass schools or universities.

“Understanding concepts such as ghusl – washing – the distinctions in the prostration between gender and the prerequisites for prayer are crucial.”

However, she added that Medresas “cannot serve as a substitute for mass schools and universities.”

“Educational institutions, including mass schools and universities, are absolutely important to our society. The closure of these establishments would lead to a gradual decrease in knowledge within Afghanistan,” she warns.

The 13 -year Tawqa is a quiet, restrained student who also studies at Shaikh Abdul Qadr Jilani Madrassa. From a pious family, she visits hours with her bigger sister.

“Religious objects are my favorite,” she says. “I like to learn what kind of hijab a woman should wear, how she should treat her family, how to treat her brother and her husband well, and never be rude.”

“I want to become a religious missionary and share my faith with people around the world.”

The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett has raised serious concerns about the restrictive education system of the Taliban “Medresa Style”.

He emphasized the need to restore educational opportunities for girls beyond sixth grade and for women in higher education.

Bennett warned that this limited education, combined with high unemployment and poverty, “can promote radical ideologies and increase the risk of home terrorism, threatening regional and global stability.”

The Talibani Ministry of Education claims that about three million students in Afghanistan are enrolled in these religious educational centers.

He promised to reopen the schools for girls under certain conditions, but that has not yet come.

Despite all the challenges Amina faced – her health struggles and the prohibition of education – she remains hope.

“I still believe that one day the Taliban will allow schools and universities to open again,” she says with conviction. “And I will realize my dream of becoming a hearty surgeon.”