High school at heart of rift among Shiites

Jared Ferrie, Foreign Correspondent

* Last Updated: August 26. 2009 11:50PM UAE / August 26. 2009 7:50PM GMT

KABUL // Tucked into a neighbourhood on the western edge of the capital, a high school has become a symbol for the political divide between members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority. When some students and staff protested a recently passed law, which critics say condones marital rape, about 35 men showed up and smashed windows and threatened to burn the school down.

“They stormed the school and cried for my execution,” said Aziz Royesh, a founder of the Marefat High School, recalling the attack in mid-April.

He escaped through a back door and police arrived to stop the violence.

“After that, they continued their [propaganda] against the school through their mosques, through their TV channels,” Mr Royesh said.

The “they” he referred to are followers of the Ayatollah Asif Mohseni, a conservative cleric who was educated in Iran and has built a sprawling mosque and madrasa complex in Kabul.

Most Shiites in Afghanistan are members of the Hazara ethnic group, which accounts for about 10 per cent of Afghanistan’s population. They are considered to be more progressive than most Afghans when it comes to the role of women. Bamyan, where most Hazaras live, is the only province with a female governor. Continue reading in ...