As Taliban took over, only girls school’s co-founder burned the records of students!!!

In the wake of years of struggle, Afghan women are once again suffering harsh treatment they encountered during the 1990s when the Taliban imposed Sharia law- a form of oppression that helped make Afghanistan a pariah state at the time. Shabana Basij-Rasikh, the co-founder of Afghanistan’s only girls boarding school, posted a video on Twitter showing her burning the records of her students. The purpose of this is not to erase them, but to protect students and their families from the Taliban.

‘Nearly 20 years later, as the founder of the only all-girls boarding school in Afghanistan, I am destroying my students’ records not to erase them, but to protect them and their families. The fire within me to invest in the education of Afghan girls who have no way outgrows as the world focuses on the dramatic – those Afghans who have managed to escape. My students, colleagues and I are safe, thanks to our ever-vibrant global village. The time to appropriately express my gratitude will come. But right now many aren’t or increasingly don’t feel safe. I’m broken & devastated for them,’ she tweeted.

In March 2002, after the fall of Taliban, thousands of Afghan girls were invited to go to the nearest public school to participate in a placement test because the Taliban had burned all female students’ records to erase their existence. I was one of those girls.
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— Shabana Basij-Rasikh (@sbasijrasikh) August 20, 2021

Additionally, she explained that she burned records to assure the safety of her students’ families. ‘As I focus on the safety and wellbeing of my students, I won’t make any further comments,’ she tweeted. Moreover, she posted a link to her school’s SOLA (School of Leadership in Afghanistan), which means peace in Pashto. Her goal is to provide girls with a rigorous education that promotes self-respect, confidence, critical thinking, and a sense of purpose.

Basij-Rasikh also narrated her own personal experience that drove her to become an advocate for girls’ education. After the fall of the Taliban in March 2002, many Afghan girls were invited to participate in a placement test at the nearest public school because the Taliban had destroyed all records of female students in order to erase their identities. She said she was one of those girls.