School or Torture Chamber? Mullahs Push Children to the Brink of Self-Immolation

Sent to Zan TV

Local sources in Paktika have confirmed that a 10-year-old child, after enduring torture and humiliation in a religious school, set himself on fire and sustained severe injuries. This incident has once again raised concerns about structural violence in the Taliban’s education system.

The child is a resident of Yusuf Khel district and, according to sources, had been repeatedly beaten and humiliated by the school’s mullah. One local witness told Zan TV, “The mullah used to beat and humiliate him every day. The child could no longer bear it.”

Following the Taliban’s return, religious schools have replaced modern education. Subjects such as mathematics, science, and literature have been eliminated, with the main focus now on indoctrinating extremist Sharia law and enforcing absolute obedience. In such a system, the child is not a learner, but a silent obedient subject of the regime.

An Afghan psychologist told us, “This self-immolation is a direct result of the repressive and violent educational environment under the Taliban. Children have neither psychological safety nor the opportunity for intellectual development.”

Taliban officials have not commented on the incident at the time of writing this report.