Female Teachers in Jawzjan Report Job Suspensions and Replacements by Taliban Affiliates

Female teachers in Jawzjan province state that Taliban authorities have suspended their work and appointed individuals close to the group in teaching positions. Sources from teachers at Gowharshad Begum High School in Sheberghan say that alongside suspensions, Taliban affiliates have been placed in their roles. They claim transfers to remote schools, such as those in Kikertek, Salmazan, and Jaqsai areas, are used to impose economic pressure and force resignations due to high commuting costs and difficulties.

One teacher source reports that several educators, including two head teachers from grades one to six, were dismissed and replaced by Pashtun teachers affiliated with the Taliban. Another account specifies that in one case, Hamida, daughter of Saleh Mohammad, the Taliban Education Department's human resources director in Jawzjan, was appointed in place of a female teacher named Hamida. Teachers also allege ethnic discrimination, with Uzbek educators removed and replaced by Taliban-linked women. A teacher using the pseudonym Salima states that 32 additional teaching positions were created.

Educators describe challenges including monthly taxi fares of 2,000 afghanis to remote schools and the need to travel with a male guardian, sharing a single salary. One teacher notes using shared vehicles to reduce costs despite fixed schedules and performing duties. Sources emphasize that these actions create job instability and economic hardship, urging intervention to end arbitrary appointments, ethnic bias, and pressures on female teachers.

The reports come amid broader Taliban restrictions on women in most sectors, with limited allowances in education and health accompanied by constraints.