As Afghan women return to the classroom, they’re confronted with a flash from the past as hierarchy comes to the education system.
For the first time since the Taliban’s takeover, students are returning to their studies at Afghanistan universities.
Female students are among those included in the return, a move many thought wouldn’t happen under the group’s governance.
But it doesn’t come without change.
Afghan women now have to learn with a curtain or board placed in the middle of the classroom to divide them from their male counterparts.
Meanwhile, other reports suggest female students are excluded from sections of the university altogether.
On a path to traditional ways
Many Afghan women feared their right to accessing education would be revoked under the Taliban.
While this isn’t the case, many feel that they’re on a path to returning to traditional ways.
“Putting up curtains is not acceptable,” Anjila, a 21-year-old student at Kabul University who returned to find her classroom partitioned, told Reuters.
“I really felt terrible when I entered the class … We are gradually going back to 20 years ago.”
A document circulating private universities suggests new guidelines and policies women must follow if they wish to return to campus.
Such new rules include mandatory wearing of hijabs and separate entrances for women.
It’s also been reported that female teachers are only allowed to teach a female cohort in some circumstances.
While it’s unclear if this document is from the Taliban, a spokesperson told Reuters that dividers in classrooms to separate male and female congregations is acceptable and that they ask women to keep studying.
Are they really supporting women’s rights?
Under the Taliban’s previous rule from 1996 to 2001, girls and women were banned from attending school and work.
But as the group works to uphold their promise in supporting women’s rights, this rule has been overturned for now.
It comes as the Taliban acts on their bid to support women’s rights however authorities aren’t holding their breath about what this means and how this will pan out in practice.
Classes were mostly empty on Monday, with many students and teachers fleeing the country in the weeks prior.
A journalism professor at Herat University told Reuters that less than a quarter of his 120 student cohort attended class, with many unsure if they had made the right decision.
“Students were very nervous today,” he said.
“I told them to just keep coming and keep studying and in the coming days the new government will set the rules.”
Nine Google employees were escorted out of company offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, following a sit-in protest against a cloud contract with Israel’s government.
The protest in Sunnyvale targeted Thomas Kurian’s office, CEO of Google’s cloud division, while in New York, it occupied a common area on the tenth floor.
Videos showed Google security staff and local police involved in the removal. Four workers in New York and five in Sunnyvale were reportedly detained, but details of any charges remain unverified.
The protesters included software engineers and activists from groups opposing tech contracts with Israel. This incident reflects ongoing activism within tech companies regarding political issues, such as Israel’s actions in Gaza.
U.S. lawmakers Jerry Nadler and Joaquin Castro expressed competition concerns regarding the planned sports streaming joint venture involving Walt Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros Discovery.
They addressed these concerns in a letter to the CEOs of the media companies, questioning the impact on access, competition, and choice in the sports streaming market.
Voicing apprehension about potential consumer price hikes and unfair licensing terms for sports leagues and distributors, they requested responses by April 30, urging the companies to also send their replies to the Department of Justice.
Despite the companies’ announcement in February of launching a joint sports streaming service in the autumn to attract younger viewers, the deal faces DOJ scrutiny and an antitrust lawsuit from FuboTV. While Disney and Warner Bros remained silent on the matter, Fox declined to comment.
The joint venture encompasses a broad range of professional and collegiate sports rights, including NFL, NBA, MLB, FIFA World Cup, and college competitions, offering non-exclusive access to sports networks such as ESPN, Fox Sports 1, and TNT via a new streaming app.
The Trump hush money trial has progressed with the selection of the first seven jurors, marking a significant step in the legal proceedings.
Seven jurors were selected
Defense and prosecution lawyers questioned potential jurors for impartiality
The judge warned lawyers he would not tolerate disruptions after he said Former US President Donald Trump audibly muttered during a prospective juror’s questioning
The selection of jurors is a crucial step in ensuring a fair trial, as they will ultimately decide Formers US President Donald Trump’s fate in this legal battle, as reported by Reuters.
The process of jury selection involves careful vetting of potential jurors to ensure impartiality and fairness.
Each juror’s background, beliefs, and potential biases are scrutinised to ensure they can render an impartial verdict based solely on the evidence presented in court.
With seven jurors already chosen, the selection process is expected to continue as both the prosecution and defence seek individuals who can objectively weigh the evidence.