Hamidullah Waizy, a geologist, was interviewing candidates for jobs at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Kabul, on Sunday 15 August when he received a message from the Taliban telling him to evacuate. He saw armed militants in the streets the next morning.
Kabul Polytechnic University researcher Waizy was also recently appointed director-general for prospecting and exploration at the ministry. He was stunned by the rapid fall of the city. He has lived in relative safety in his home, but inlimbo since then.
Most public offices and universities in Kabul are still closed. Although the Taliban claims it wants its officials to keep working, it isn't clear how this will work. Waizy said that the future was uncertain.
In 1996-2001, the fundamentalist group that ruled Afghanistan for the last time imposed a strict version of Islamic Sharia law. This was characterized by violations of women's rights and suppression of freedoms of expression. After it was overthrown in 2001 international funding began to flow into Afghanistan, and universities flourished.
Academics now fear for their safety. Academics are also concerned about the fate of their research, which they fear will be hampered by lack of money and freedoms. Also, educated people may flee. Some are afraid they might be persecuted because of their involvement in international collaborations or because of their field of study or their ethnicity.
Earned hard-earned rewards
Attaullah Ahmedi, a public health scientist at Kateb University, Kabul, said that the achievements of the past 20 years are at great risk.
News reports claim that billions of dollars have been frozen in foreign finance for Afghanistan's government, including assets and credit from International Monetary Fund as well as credit from the US Federal Reserve. Although it is not known when or how the funding will be released, many reports indicate that salaries are not being paid.
After the terrorist attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, a US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan. It overthrew Taliban leaders. A new government was elected in 2004.
Kenneth Holland, a dean at O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India was the president of American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), Kabul, in 201719. According to him, there was almost no research done at universities when he first arrived in Afghanistan in 2006.
He says that since 2004, the US Agency for International Development, the World Bank and other international organizations have invested hundreds of millions in universities to support research, teaching and faculty training.
Since 2010, more than 30 public universities have been created or reestablished. Tens of thousands more private universities were also established. The Ministry of Higher Education funds public universities. It is funded by international donors. Private universities can survive on tuition fees even though the AUAF is largely funded by the US government.
Aspirations and hopes
Public universities saw a rise in student numbers from 8,000 in 2001, to 170,000 by 2018, with one-quarter of them being women. Although Afghanistan's contribution to international journals has remained minimal, the Scopus database recorded 285 papers per year in 2019.
Shakardokht, originally from Afghanistan and a medical physicist at University of Surrey, Guildford, UK has seen great progress since 2001. From the burgeoning enrollment of female students to increasing output on topics such as cancer to geology, to the burgeoning enrolment of these students, Shakardokht jafari has seen significant progress. She is now concerned about the stagnation in science and research.
According to Najibullah Kkar, a geohazards researcher at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, scientists have long considered Afghanistan a black hole. He is just one of many Afghans who have gone abroad to study and return to their homeland with new skills to build the country. He helped install Afghanistan's first seismic network in 2014 to study plate tectonics. He continued his work until 2019, when conflict made travel difficult to remote areas.
His team had planned to set up a seismic monitoring and research center in Afghanistan to warn about natural disasters. They have been in panic since the fall of Kabul and Kakar claims he hasn't slept in days. He desperately wants to get his colleagues out.
Scholars at Risk
Kakars colleagues are part of a wave of international researchers seeking asylum. Rose Anderson, director of Scholars at Risk (SAR), a New York City humanitarian organization that finds threats scholars safe havens at universities says that SAR received over 500 applications from Afghans in August alone.
Law scholars may fear reprisals if they disagree with the Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law. Many women are afraid of being attacked for their gender activism and for supporting women's rights. Men fear being punished for supervising or teaching women. Others fear that they might be added to hit list because of their international connections or studies.
Anderson says that almost all of them fear being targeted simply because they support free and critical inquiry and hold ideals about respecting human rights and women's rights. Many people have fled to hiding or planned to travel into neighboring countries.
Anderson states that 164 institutions have so far agreed to host scholars. SAR appealed to the US and European governments for visa expedites and continued evacuation flights.
It is not easy to get people out: embassies are shut, Kabul airport is dangerously overcrowded, and it is difficult to escape by land. Many are still at risk in Afghanistan.
Holland claims that researchers at the AUAF may be particularly vulnerable. In 2016, the institution was attacked by militants. 13 people, including staff members and students, were killed. He says that 60 of the 400 non-Afghan employees were evacuated. However, only 20 of the local workers have been evacuated. Holland claims that 800 more students and over 1,000 alumni could be targeted.
Minority groups are at risk
Ethnically Pashtun makes up the largest portion of Afghanistan's 39 million population. This includes many Taliban members. Other ethnic groups are at risk of being persecuted.
Musa Joya, a medical physicist from Tehran University of Medical Science (Iran), is also a lecturer at Kabul. He is a member of the Farsi-speaking Hazara group, and he claims that he is a target. His plans to return to Kabul next summer to work in a radiotherapy center supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency were suspended. Joya states that staying in Iran may not be an option because it is hard for non-nationals get employment at research institutions.
His wife and their children remain in Afghanistan. He says he sees a grim future. I don't know how to feed my family, how to rescue them, and how to protect them.
Although he has not heard of Taliban persecution of Kabulans, he is alarmed by news reports about killings in other parts of Afghanistan. He says that people are getting ready to face a storm.
A few signs suggest that the restrictions might not be as severe as they were under previous Taliban administrations. According to several researchers, the Taliban is currently in discussions with university leaders about resuming classes. Although there are some suggestions that women may be permitted to continue their education, the Taliban has demanded that men and women be taught separately. Some universities have suggested that partitions be introduced in classrooms.
However, in Bamyan, west Kabul, women are told to not work and to stay home. This is according to a female lecturer and researcher on education. She graduated from AUAF and she is Hazara. She says that I am now under threat from Taliban.
Appeals for Support
Scientists are also concerned about the future research. Joya is concerned that the Taliban will not prioritize research or recognize its value. He doesn't know how universities will survive without international financial assistance.
Unnamed Kabul-based scholar and member the Afghanistan Science Academy says that this is his third loss. He fled in the 1970s, before the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. He also fled in the 1990s when the Taliban was in power. Now, he is considering leaving again. This is a difficult situation for any human being. You are born in war, grow up in conflict and then you die in it.
Many people who have postgraduate degrees fled. He says this is a huge disaster for Afghanistan's future. There will be no more educated people.
He adds that the academy employed around 200 scholars and 160 additional staff with a budget of 300 million afghani ($3.5 million) annually. They, along with many government employees, were not paid for the past two months as the Taliban tightened its grip over the country.
Ahmadi says that the system is nearly paralysed.
It is unclear if the international community will continue to fund the government or recognize the new government. They are hopeful that they won't be abandoned by the international community. To build a better future for our children and ourselves, we spent our time, money and energy in Afghanistan. Joya says that this withdrawal destroyed our lives and all our hopes, as well as our dreams.
This article was published with permission on August 27, 2021.
