![Afghan children attend an open-air school at Sarabagh, Khost province, on April 22. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2024/11/07/48097-childrensarabagh-739_416.webp)
KABUL -- A disturbing increase in violence targeting educational institutions and educators in Afghanistan is taking place, according to human rights activists and local media.
Five major incidents occurred in September alone, Insecurity Insight, a nonprofit organization based in Switzerland, reported October 29.
These incidents, involving threats, suicide bombings and targeted killings by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria"'s Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) and unidentified gunmen, have disrupted educational institutions and claimed lives.
On September 2, an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed six people, including a university professor, and injured 13 others in Kabul's Qala-e-Bakhtiar neighborhood.
The violence continued September 3 in Ishkashim district, Badakhshan province, where a math teacher was shot and killed.
The same day, two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle fatally shot a teacher at Ahmad Shah Massoud High School in Mazar-e-Sharif before fleeing the scene.
On September 25, authorities visited a number of schools in Khost province and threatened students, ordering them to grow their beards.
On September 29, three individuals set fire to the Bibi Amina Girls' School in Panjshir.
Insecurity Insight previously reported that the chairman of the economics faculty at Aburayhan University in the Pul-e-Surkh neighbourhood, Kabul city, was detained and beaten on July 20.
On February 21, the director of the Roshan Zamiran Private School in Herat province was attacked and shot to death by unknown assailants.
Growing concerns
These attacks have raised concerns about the safety of educational professionals and the future of education in Afghanistan amid escalating violence.
While Afghan girls have already been denied access to education, targeting teachers represents yet another assault on Afghanistan's education sector, said Mohammad Musa Karimi, a former professor at Kabul University who now lives in Türkiye.
"Unfortunately, terrorist groups are aiming to dismantle Afghanistan's educational foundations," he said. "They are working to keep the Afghan people in total darkness."
"The enemies of Afghanistan fear educated Afghan youth because they know that an informed population can counter their destructive plans," he told Salaam Times. "That is why they are determined to prevent Afghans from gaining education."
The current authorities have no alternative but to act decisively against terrorist groups in the country, said Nabiullah Fatemi, an Afghan political analyst based in Austria.
"If the government lacks the means to counter groups like ISIS-K, it should seek international assistance," he said, expressing confidence that "the global community is ready to help combat this menace."
Several terrorist groups currently operate within Afghanistan, with ISIS-K strengthening its connections among them, Fatemi said.
ISIS-K's ambitions extend beyond Afghanistan's borders, he warned.
"There is an urgent need for a coordinated effort to prevent ISIS-K from extending its influence to other nations," he said.
In Afghanistan, successive rulers have consistently diminished the status and significance of teachers, as if their role were unnecessary. Such incidents are hardly surprising for teachers. They have long endured the relentless hardships of poverty and helplessness, leaving little else to be taken from them.
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Excellent
Reply4 Comment
The mistreatment of teachers has been ongoing for decades in Afghanistan. It began when communists took control and started interfering in the educational system. They changed Afghanistan's national and religious values into communist and secular ideals. Instead of exploring Afghanistan's national and religious values in the curriculum, the Soviet-aligned People's Party infused it with their political ideology. In Afghanistan's religious society, absurd materials, such as physics, were included in the educational curriculum. For example, "What is the force of attraction between a boy and a girl at a certain distance?" were added — They are indeed ridiculous. This nonsense has paved the way for people to become disillusioned with schools and teachers, labeling them as un-Islamic. On the other hand, the jihadist groups established in Pakistan, which were supported by Western and Arab countries at the time, created an educational curriculum for Afghan youth, but it was also filled with venom. The Nebraska Center developed a curriculum for Afghan children in Peshawar that focused entirely on training in violence, killing, and destruction. This was framed in religious terms, which became another harsh ordeal for young Afghans. The children who were raised and educated under this system grew up with extremist views. When they returned to Afghanistan, they clashed with each other, labeling one another as infidels, and felt justified in killing each other. A poet says: "Whether co
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As long as a comprehensive security is not established in the country, such security incidents will inevitably occur. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, which continued until 1988, and hundreds of thousands of light and heavy weapons were brought into Afghanistan, and then during the anarchist regime led by Burhanuddin Rabbani in Afghanistan, which was supported by Russians, tons of weapons were brought to Afghanistan. On one hand, the Russians provided weapons to the government led by Burhanuddin Rabbani and printed fake banknotes for his government, on the other hand, the long-time enemies of Afghanistan; Iran and Pakistan, supported the groups of Hizb-e-Islami led by Gulbadin Hekmatyar and Hizb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami led by Abdul Ali Mazari, 99% of which's members were Hazara Shiites, provided them with weapons and equipment. On the other hand, Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf was supported by Saudi Arabia, and Abdul Rashid Dostum, leader of the Glim-Jam militias, received financial support and weapons from Turkey and Uzbekistan, as a result of which they all clashed with each other, and finally Kabul city was destroyed, facilities of the capital and the provinces were demolished, and tens of thousands of Afghans were killed, and the series of killings is still ongoing. We ask the current government led by Taliban to strengthen its relations with India and European countries and the United States and make Afghanistan benefit from the technology and military equipment
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