Afghan Girls Must Return To School In Spring, Says Former President Hamid Karzai

Hamid Karzai Update: Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai has extended his support for women's education and said girls should return to schools.

Afghanistan's Former President Hamid Karzai during an interview (Courtesy: Tolo news)

Kabul: While emphasizing women's education, former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai said the girls should return to schools and women must be allowed to work. In a detailed interview with CNN, Karzai said, “That has to happen. There is no excuse there".

As the world is witnessing a series of discriminatory rules enacted by the Islamist group after the Taliban seized power of the war-torn nation on August 15, 2020, Afghanistan is yet to open educational institutions.

According to the officials of the Islamic Emirate, the schools will be reopened in the spring.

“If the international community and US pay the salaries of teachers or not, we, as the government, will open schools in the spring and this decision does not link with the demands of the US and international community,” said Aziz Ahmad Reyan, head of the publications and public relations department of the Ministry of Education.

"We must begin to work out a stable and peaceful Afghanistan by incorporating the opinion and aspiration of all the other Afghans, by enacting a constitution, by moving forward with opening schools for girls this March," Karzai added.

Karzai also informed that he and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation in the previous government, will not be members of any government.

“Dr. Abdullah and I do not want to be in the government. We have had our time. We have done our part for the country. So there is no need for us in the government and we should not be in any government that comes into the future,” he said.

US and international community are ready to pay the salaries of teachers if all girls’ schools are reopened across the nation, said US special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West earlier.