Afghanistan: From Taliban Fort to School for Girls

We visited the Sultan Razia Girls' High School today, which is probably the greatest symbol of change that you can find in Mazar-i-Sharif. The school building was closed down during the Taliban era and used for three years as a base for Taliban fighters coming in from other parts of Afghanistan and for jihadis from Pakistan. On November 9, 2001 the make-shift Taliban base was raided by the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance. After the fall of the Taliban the school was reconstructed by USAID and UNDP and today 5,000 girls attend school there in two shifts, each day.