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Meanwhile, this last-minute reversal of the decision on girls’ schools is seen as further proof of a rising ideological rift within the Taliban leadership. Andrew Watkins of the US Institute of Peace, noted, “This last-minute change appears to be driven by ideological differences in the movement… about how girls returning to school will be perceived by their followers.”
"This last-minute change appears to be driven by ideological differences in the movement... about how girls returning to school will be perceived by their followers," Afghan expert Andrew Watkins, of the US Institute of Peace, said the about-face reflected a rift in the Taliban leadership.
Some public universities reopened in Afghanistan on Wednesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August, with a trickle of women attending classes that officials said would be segregated by sex. Most secondary schools for girls and all public universities were shuttered when the group stormed back to power, sparking fears women would again be barred from education — as happened during the Taliban's first rule, from 1996-2001...
While some point out lingering factionalism inside the Taliban, others say that the ruling group in Kabul has shown its ‘cohesive’ nature by successfully negotiating with the US and defeating its enemies...