Preventing the government forces from participating in a cultural program in Balkh

Local sources from Balkh province say that the caretaker government forces in Mazar-e-Sharif city, the capital of this province, did not allow a number of girls who were invited to a cultural-literary program to participate in that program. Speaking to Goharshad media, Samira Kothari, a member of “Khane Dastan” association in Balkh province, said that on Saturday, 27th of Pisces, she was supposed to honor female cultural and literary activists in this city during a program, but the forces of the caretaker government prevented the girls from attending this program. Mrs. Kothari emphasized that this program was held at Ibn Sina University in Mazar-e-Sharif, and the government forces told participating girls that they could not participate in this program because the universities were closed to girls. He added that Balkh Story House Association honored him in his absence for winning the first place of the 21st round of Sadegh Hedayat Literary Festival. This cultural and literary activist says that in this program, a number of girls were invited by Balkh Story House Association to be honored for their cultural activities. But the government forces did not allow them to participate in this program. Mrs. Kothari clarified that her brother received the letter of appreciation from Balkh Story House on her behalf. Meanwhile, this year, Samira Kothari was able to win the first place among 800 participants from different countries in the Sadegh Hedayat Literary Festival. He said that he could not participate in this festival due to the recent restrictions of the caretaker government on the travel of women and not having a passport. Samira Kothari is 23 years old and is currently a student of English literature at Seyed Jamaluddin Private University in Balkh. But it must be said that currently all universities are closed to girls in Afghanistan. At the same time, the forces of the current government prevent girls from attending a cultural and literary program, which has been closed to girls for more than 540 days, and the fate of female students has not been clarified. Women and girls are not allowed to work in domestic and international institutions and study in universities. Women are prohibited from going to public baths, amusement parks, gymnasiums, being treated by male doctors, and participating in private university entrance exams.