An official verified that the Taliban ordered secondary females schools in Afghanistan to close just hours after they reopened, causing confusion regarding the hardline Islamist group’s policy change. “Yes, it’s true,” Taliban spokesman Inamullah Samangani told AFP when asked to confirm reports that girls had been ordered home.
An AFP crew was recording at Zarghona High School in Kabul’s capital when a teacher walked in and told everyone to leave. Students, who were returning to class for the first time since the Taliban took power in August of last year, sobbed as they packed their bags and filed out. Schools were closed when the Taliban seized power last August.
Taliban have placed a variety of restrictions on women
There were fears that the Taliban might shut down all formal schooling for girls. As they did during their previous reign of terror from 1996 to 2001. The right to education for everyone has become a stumbling point in international negotiations over funding and recognition of the new Taliban leadership. The decision for girls’ secondary schools to reopen was only partially followed on Wednesday. There were indications from certain parts of the nation, including Kandahar, that courses will resume next month. However, several, including Herat and Panjshir, reopened in the capital and other places at least briefly.
The Taliban have placed a variety of restrictions on women. It includes effectively barring them from numerous government professions, controlling what they wear; and prohibiting them from leaving their cities alone. (dramarnathansdentalcare.com) Even if schools reopen entirely, there are still impediments to girls returning to school; since many families are wary of the Taliban and are hesitant to send their daughters outside.
Afghan students frequently miss large portions of the school year due to poverty or violence. While some continue to learn well into their late teens or early twenties. Human Rights Watch also brought up the problem of how limited opportunities girls have to put their education to use. The education ministry recognized that there was a teacher deficit; with many of those who fled the nation as the Taliban stormed to power among the tens of thousands.
