Amu: The Taliban’s higher education minister, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, has issued sweeping new restrictions on universities, including a ban on smartphones, an order to remove images of living beings from classrooms and a requirement that staff wear turbans, according to internal documents obtained by Amu. The directives, signed by Nadeem, were outlined in a 10-page
Afghanistan International: Thousands of Afghan schoolchildren and university students have been unable to attend online classes after the Taliban cut internet services in several provinces, sources said Tuesday. A female student told Afghanistan International that the shutdown had effectively closed the last remaining door to education for girls. “With the internet cut, the Taliban has
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal and Azmat Ali Shah September 13, 2025 Students at an Afghan refugee camp near Peshawar in northwest Pakistan are worried about what comes next for them if they are forcibly repatriated to Afghanistan. RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal met students at a school in the Khazana Refugee Camp on the outskirts of Peshawar.
8am: Local sources report that the Taliban have removed 51 subjects from school textbooks in Afghanistan, including topics on women’s rights and human rights. On Thursday, September 11, local sources told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban claimed the removed subjects were in contradiction with the values and principles of Islamic Sharia. According to
CNN: Imperfect though these religious institutions are, they are the only option for most Afghan girls over the age of 12 who want any education. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world that prohibits girls and women from getting general education at secondary and higher levels. Click here to read more (external link).
Amu: The day Setara, a young woman in Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan, passed the university entrance exam was the day she believed her life would begin. Instead, it ended in a poppy field. Once dreaming of becoming a teacher, the young woman from Badakhshan, whose name has been changed in this story to protect
Afghanistan International: The Taliban’s primary court in Khidir district of Daikundi province has sentenced six teachers from the Ofuq-e Nowin educational centre to prison, sources told Afghanistan International. The sentences range from three to five months and are reportedly linked to the instructors’ work teaching English and computer skills. Click here to read more (external
Amu: Some analysts believe the mass dismissals are part of a broader Taliban effort to reshape the country’s academic institutions by removing independent or critical voices and replacing them with ideologically aligned figures. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan International: The Taliban have confirmed that hundreds of books have been banned and removed from libraries and bookstores across Afghanistan over the past three years. In addition to suppressing independent publications, the Taliban have also banned several university textbooks, further restricting academic freedom and access to diverse sources of knowledge within higher education institutions.
8am: Many students across various schools in Afghanistan have expressed concern over the mounting pressure from the Taliban to wear white shalwar kameez and turbans (lungi). According to these students, those who cannot afford such attire face harsh treatment, are sometimes beaten by teachers, marked as absent, or even barred from entering school. Many students