Kabul: Some public universities in Afghanistan reopened on Wednesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August, with a trickle of women attending classes that officials said would be segregated by sex.
Most secondary schools for girls and all public universities were closed when the group returned to power, fearing that women would be barred from re-education – as in 1996–2001 during the Taliban's first regime. It happened from
"It is a happy moment for us that our classes have started," Jarlasht Haqmal, who studied law and political science at Nangarhar University, told AFP.
"But we are still concerned that the Taliban may stop them."
One analyst said the reopening of universities was an "important marker" on the Taliban's path to international recognition.
Universities in Lagman, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroj, Farah and Helmand provinces opened on Wednesday, officials said.
It was set to resume operations elsewhere in the country later this month.
An AFP correspondent saw a small group of women wearing burqas enter Loughman University early Wednesday.
Those who participated - left for the premises in local taxis and buses - wearing traditional tunics known as shalwar kameez.
The presence was very light and Taliban fighters guarded the entrance, a tripod-mounted machine gun resting on a boom gate.
Most of the students refused to express their views upon returning to class, with some saying they had been warned by the authorities not to speak to the press.
Journalists were barred from entering the Lagman campus and universities in other provinces.
-critical marker -
The Taliban have said they have no objection to women's education, but want classes to be segregated and curriculum based on Islamic principles.
"We were told that the classes would be according to Sharia law," said 23-year-old math student Malik Samdi.
"I hope they keep all the courses because society needs them."
Munsfullah, a civil engineering student at Helmand University, expressed happiness on returning to his studies, saying, "Education is the foundation of a nation."
Yet, happy to return to lecture, one student looked beyond her studies with pessimism.
Khadija Azizi from Nangarhar University said, “We are also sad because being political and law students, our future is in danger as we will not be able to get jobs under this regime.”
"It has not been more pleasant for us because we have lost hope for our future."
On Tuesday, the UN aid mission in Afghanistan said the reopening of universities was an "important step" as it offered equal access to education for all.
The Taliban delegation re-inaugurated a week after talks with Western officials in Norway, where they were pressured to reform women's rights to unlock billions of dollars in confiscated assets and frozen foreign aid.
The withholding of aid has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, which has already been ravaged by decades of war.
No country has yet recognized the new Taliban regime, which has promised a softer version of the harsh regime that characterized its first term in power.
The government has imposed several restrictions on women, including banning them from many government jobs.
The Taliban say all-girls schools will reopen by the end of March.
"Reopening public universities ... would be good for girls (in school) to return across the country," United States Institute of Peace analyst Andrew Watkins told AFP.
"This Taliban is taking a step that will be an important marker in the move towards recognition."