UN is seeking to verify that Afghanistan’s Taliban are letting girls study at religious schools

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says it’s seeking to verify reports that Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are allowing girls of all ages to study at Islamic religious schools that are traditionally boys-only. Roza Otunbayeva is the U.N.’s top official in the country. She told the Security Council on Wednesday that the U.N. is receiving “more and more anecdotal evidence” that girls can study at these schools known as madrassas. She says it’s not clear “what constitutes a madrassa, if there is a standardized curriculum that allows modern education subjects, and how many girls are able to study in madrassas.” The Taliban have been globally condemned for banning girls and women from secondary school and university, and allowing girls to study only through the sixth grade.