Last Wednesday, the Afghan TV company Ariana News published a letter signed by the country’s Ministry of Education prohibiting female students over the age of 12 from singing the national anthem or any other group song on occasions where there are men. It will only be allowed if the audience is entirely made up of women. On the other hand, singing teachers will not be able to teach female students.
Najiba Erian, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, confirmed the legitimacy of the speech, adding that the measure applies to all public and private schools, according to what was reported by local media.
According to Ariane, the decision was made at the request of students and parents.
However, many users on social media showed that they disagreed with the government action, and compared it to the ideology of the Taliban.
“It is not good for the image of the republic that they begin to emulate the same Taliban values,” journalist Roshi Kumar said in a tweet.
Another Twitter user noted that Education Minister Rangina Hamidi presented herself a long time ago as a defender of women’s rights, but now she is using her voice to “silence young Afghan women.”
At the same time, some defended the measure on the assumption that it was taken due to complaints of harassment of minors, while other users asserted that this decision would not solve the problem.
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