VOA慢速英语2021--阿富汗一省重新开设女子学校

Unique Effort Reopens Girls’ School in an Afghan Province

High school girls are at staying home almost everywhere in Afghanistan because Taliban rulers will not permit them to go to school.

There is, however, one exception¹.

For weeks, girls in the western province of Herat have been back in high school classrooms. This comes after an effort by teachers and parents to work with the local Taliban administrators² to reopen the schools.

Taliban officials never officially approved the reopening. But they also did not stop it when classes started in early October.

"Parents, students and teachers joined hand in hand to do this," said Mohammed Saber Meshaal. He is the head of the Herat teachers' group, which helped organize the campaign.

The success in Herat shows the difference in the Taliban's current rule over Afghanistan from their rule in the late 1990s. In their earlier rule, the Taliban banned women from public life and would not permit girls to attend school. They used force and punishments to enforce³ the rules.

Now, the Taliban seem to understand that they cannot act the same way. In the past 20 years, Afghanistan has changed. Women are out in public and some have professional lives. The Taliban have been unclear about what is permitted and what is not permitted.

Many think the Taliban do not want to create additional⁴ problems as they try to get control of an economy that is near collapse⁵. The group also faces the possible loss of international financial support and the dangerous growth of the Islamic State in the country.

That has left a narrow path where Afghans can try to push back.

When the Taliban took power in August, most schools were closed because of COVID-19. Following international pressure, the Taliban soon reopened schools for girls in grades 1-6, along with boys' schools at all levels.

They have not permitted girls in grades 7-12 to return, saying they must be certain the classes are held in an "Islamic manner." The Taliban also barred most women from government jobs, their largest place of employment⁶.

In Herat province, however, teachers quickly began to organize.

"When the Taliban came, we were very worried, because of everything before," said Basira Basiratkhah. She is the head of the Tajrobawai Girls School in Herat.

They met with the local Taliban leader and head of the education department to build a relationship. When they asked for a reopening, Taliban officials refused, saying they could not permit it without an order from the government in Kabul. The teachers continued to ask.

Basiratkhah said they told the Taliban, "We don't need to change anything. We are Muslims and we already observe everything Islam requires."

By October, the teachers and parents felt they could reopen. But many were worried. "We had concerns, and we have them still," said Mastoura, a parent with two daughters at the school. "But daughters must get an education. Without education, your life is held back."

School reopening

Fadieh Ismailzadeh is a 14-year-old in the ninth grade. She said she cried with happiness at the news. "We had lost all hope that schools would reopen," she added.

Not all the students showed up when the doors opened. But as parents became more confident, classes filled after a few days, Basiratkhah said.

On a recent day, girls in a chemistry class listened as a teacher explained the elements that make up water.

Shehabeddin Saqeb is the Taliban education director for Herat province. He says the group has no problems with girls going to school.

"We openly tell everyone that they should come to school," he told The Associated Press. "The schools are open without any problem. We never issued any official order saying high-school-aged girls should not go to school."

A full reopening of girls' schools must likely happen before United Nations' agencies⁷ will agree to pay teachers. So far, the Taliban have refused to set a date for reopening and most schools are starting a winter break until March.

In a speech Saturday, Taliban Prime⁸ Minister Mohammed Hassan Akhund said "women are already getting an education," adding only: "There is hope to broaden⁹ it, as God allows."

Words in This Story

province - n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

broaden - v. to become wider or more general

1 exception   

n.例外,除外

参考例句：

• Everyone should keep discipline and you are no exception. 每个人都应该遵守纪律,你也毫无例外。
• There's an exception to every rule. 每项规则均有例外。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 enforce   

vt.实施，执行；强制，强迫；加强，坚持

参考例句：

• You have no right to enforce your own views on me.你无权把你自己的观点强加给我。
• They tried to enforce agreement with their plans.他们企图迫使人们同意他们的计划。

4 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 employment   

n.雇用；使用；工作，职业

参考例句：

• A large office requires the employment of many people.一个大办事处需要雇用好多人员。
• The state of employment in this city is improving.这个城市就业状况正在改善。

7 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 prime   

adj.首要的，主要的；最好的，第一流的

参考例句：

• The prime minister spoke of the general insecurity in the country.总理谈到了全国普遍存在的不安全。
• He met with the Prime Minister of Japan for an hour.他和日本首相会见了一个小时。

9 broaden   

v.放宽，变宽，扩大

参考例句：

• We broaden in experiences by traveling.旅行增长我们的经验。
• Let's broaden out the discussion to talk about education as a whole.我们来扩大一下讨论范围，全面谈谈教育问题。