Taliban shut down schools for girls in Afghanistan hours after they reopen

Secondary schools for girls reopened today for the first time since August 2020, when the regime seized power in the war-torn nation for a second time.

In a dramatic turn of events, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan ordered closure of secondary schools for girls on Wednesday, just hours after these reopened for the first time since last August, when the Islamic movement seized power in the country for a second time.

Children in Afghanistan. (AFP/Image used only for representation)

“Yes, it’s true,” Taliban spokesman Inamullah Samangani confirmed the development after the order lead to confusion among the students.

The sudden move is likely to spark fresh concerns over girls’ education in the war-torn nation. Upon capturing power in the country, the Taliban had promised to ‘protect’ the rights of women, children and minorities.

Keeping up with its promise, the regime, in September 2021, allowed some schools for girls, up to class 6, to reopen. Also, women were allowed to visit universities. However, high schools for female students remained closed, and the Islamic emirate announced that classes for all girls would resume ‘at the earliest.’

Accordingly, in its order announcing reopening of schools for girls, the Taliban said educational institutes will reopen from March 23 in several provinces, including capital Kabul. However, the order also noted that schools in Kandahar--the group’s ‘spiritual heartland’--will not open until April.

“We are reopening schools not to make the international community happy, nor to gain recognition from the world,” a spokesperson said at the time.

Previously, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, after which they were driven away by the US-led forces who arrived here in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. US troops fully exited the country in August last year.

(With agency inputs)