Kabul University in Afghanistan reopened on Saturday for the first time since the Taliban took power last August.
Men and women are both allowed to attend the university, a change since the Taliban’s first rule in the 1990s when women were not allowed in higher education. This time, women are allowed to attend colleges but must wear a hijab at all times.
“After much delay, fortunately, all universities and educational institutions started today Feb. 26,” Taliban spokesman for the Higher Education Ministry Ahmad Taqqi told the Associated Press. “The education will continue based on the plans and policies of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
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Before the Taliban takeover, men and women were allowed to take courses together and had men and women professors, a policy reversed under the Taliban, which mandated classes become segregated. Women will attend courses in the morning while men attend in the afternoon.
However, male and female professors are allowed to teach both genders despite arguments from Taliban officials that women should only be taught by other women.
The classes will adhere to the Taliban’s religious and cultural values, the university said in a Facebook post. Students said the curriculum was largely the same, with music being the only exception. No music is allowed in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
Students also said the structure of the school, which was modeled after liberal arts schools in the United States, is not very different from pre-Taliban rule.
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Kabul University was one of many schools in the country that closed when the Taliban returned to power. However, other public universities in the provinces of Lagham, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroz, Farah, and Helmand reopened earlier this month.
Women are expected to return to Kabul University in late March.
