FAIZABAD (SW) – A number of female students from Badakhshan have protested in a viral social media video against denial of chance to attend the university entrance examination.
Local sources in Badakhshan said on Saturday that dozens of girls applying for university entrance examination in Nasi Darwaz district have been barred from taking the entrance exam due to Taliban’s opposition.
A local source in Nasi Darwaz district of Badakhshan told Salam Watandar that the girls in the district had no way out of their area. He said at least 80 girls failed to attend the entrance exam.
A spokesman for the Badakhshan governor said the Taliban had warned girls their fathers would be made to pay fine of up to AFN 100,000 if they took the entrance exam.
Badakhshan police spokesman Sanaullah Rouhani acknowledged this year the university entrance examination did not take place in Nasi Darwaz due to the Taliban, and the students were compelled to travel to nearby Shaki district for the test.
According to a local civic rights activist, Storay Yazdanparast, most areas of Nasi district are under Taliban control. A number of young people and civil activists in Badakhshan have also launched a campaign under the slogan of: "Do not deprive girls of the right to education", urging the Taliban not to prevent girls from taking the entrance exam.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was not aware of the incident.
ENDS
