内容摘要："Is it a gap widening policy? Of course it is, particularly where you think about early childcare as early education, because there is a really substantial proportion of young children not receiving that."

"Is it a gap widening policy? Of course it is, particularly where you think about early childcare as early education, because there is a really substantial proportion of young children not receiving that."

After the new law was announced she says she had a surge in calls asking for help. “A friend of mine messaged me to say this was her last message. She was thinking of ending her life. They feel all hope is gone and there is no point in continuing living,” she said. “And it’s becoming more and more difficult to counsel them.”I asked Hamdullah Fitrat about the Taliban government’s responsibility towards women and girls in their country who are being driven into depression and suicidal thoughts because they’re banned from education.

“Our sisters' education is an important issue. We’re trying to resolve this issue which is the demand of a lot of our sisters,” the spokesman said.But three years on, do they really expect people to believe them?“We are awaiting a decision from our leadership. When it is made, we will all be told about it,” he replied.

From earlier meetings with Taliban officials, it has been evident for a while that there are divisions within the Taliban government on the issue of women’s education, with some wanting it to be restarted. But the Kandahar-based leadership has remained intransigent, and there has been no public breaking of ranks with the supreme leader’s diktats.We have seen some evidence of the difference in views. Not far from Kabul, we were unexpectedly given access to a midwife training course regularly run by the Taliban’s public health ministry. It was under way when we visited, and because ours was a last-minute visit, we know it was not put on for us to see.

More than a dozen women in their 20s were attending the course being conducted by a senior female doctor. The course is a mix of theory and practical sessions.

The students couldn’t speak freely but many said they were happy to be able to do this work."We've got a good business case. We just need a quick decision."

Restoring the line requires about three miles (5km) of new track.It was going to be funded by the Restoring Your Railway programme, before it was axed, with new stations to be built in the town centre and in Pill, as part of the Metrowest mass transportation project.

The Portishead link's price tag of £152m was set to have been partly funded by the DfT, which paid upfront costs of around £45m as part of the Restoring Your Railway fund.This was accompanied by additional funding from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and North Somerset Council.