Girls sent home in tears as Taliban reneges on plans to allow female high school students in Afghanistan
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Sahar, 17, told Reuters in October 2021 she was desperate to return to school.(Reuters: Zohra Bensemra)
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abc.net.au/news/afghan-students-tears-taliban-orders-girls-schools-remain-closed/100934526
The Taliban says high schools for girls will remain closed until new plans for attendance are formulated in accordance with Islamic law, backtracking on last week's statement that female students would be welcome.
Key points:
Teachers and students from three high schools around Afghanistan's capital Kabul said girls had excitedly returned to campuses on Wednesday morning, only to be ordered to go home.
"We all got disappointed and we all became totally hopeless when the principal told us, she was also crying," said a student, not named for security reasons.
When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, female education and most employment for women was banned.
The international community has made the education of girls a key demand for any future recognition of the Taliban administration, which took over the country in August 2021 as foreign forces withdrew.
The United Nations and the United States condemned the school closures on Wednesday.
The Taliban's Ministry of Education had announced last week that schools for all students, including girls, would open around the country on Wednesday after months of restrictions.
On Tuesday evening, a Ministry of Education spokesman released a video congratulating all students on their return to class.
However, on Wednesday, a ministry notice said schools for girls would be closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture, according to Bakhtar News, a government news agency.
"We inform all girls' high schools and those schools that are having female students above class six that they are off until the next order," said the notice.
A Taliban administration source confirmed to Reuters that schools for girls in Kabul would be closed for now, without elaborating.
The Taliban is seeking to run the country according to its interpretation of Islamic law, while at the same time accessing billions of dollars in aid that it needs to stave off widespread poverty and hunger.
"The UN in Afghanistan deplores today's reported announcement by the Taliban that they are further extending their indefinite ban on female students above the 6th grade being permitted to return school," the United Nations' Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement.
Posted 8h ago
Sahar, 17, told Reuters in October 2021 she was desperate to return to school.(Reuters: Zohra Bensemra)
Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article
abc.net.au/news/afghan-students-tears-taliban-orders-girls-schools-remain-closed/100934526
The Taliban says high schools for girls will remain closed until new plans for attendance are formulated in accordance with Islamic law, backtracking on last week's statement that female students would be welcome.
Key points:
- Reports from Kabul say female students were left in tears after being told they were not allowed to attend class
- The United Nations and the United States condemned the reported closures
- The Taliban banned female education and most employment for women when previously in power
Teachers and students from three high schools around Afghanistan's capital Kabul said girls had excitedly returned to campuses on Wednesday morning, only to be ordered to go home.
"We all got disappointed and we all became totally hopeless when the principal told us, she was also crying," said a student, not named for security reasons.
When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, female education and most employment for women was banned.
The international community has made the education of girls a key demand for any future recognition of the Taliban administration, which took over the country in August 2021 as foreign forces withdrew.
The United Nations and the United States condemned the school closures on Wednesday.
The Taliban's Ministry of Education had announced last week that schools for all students, including girls, would open around the country on Wednesday after months of restrictions.
On Tuesday evening, a Ministry of Education spokesman released a video congratulating all students on their return to class.
However, on Wednesday, a ministry notice said schools for girls would be closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture, according to Bakhtar News, a government news agency.
"We inform all girls' high schools and those schools that are having female students above class six that they are off until the next order," said the notice.
A Taliban administration source confirmed to Reuters that schools for girls in Kabul would be closed for now, without elaborating.
The Taliban is seeking to run the country according to its interpretation of Islamic law, while at the same time accessing billions of dollars in aid that it needs to stave off widespread poverty and hunger.
"The UN in Afghanistan deplores today's reported announcement by the Taliban that they are further extending their indefinite ban on female students above the 6th grade being permitted to return school," the United Nations' Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement.
