Taliban opens Afghan high schools to youngsters only

The Ministry of Education said in a statement issued on Friday that all public, private and accredited religious schools as well as other educational institutions in the country should resume secondary education. “To this end, we are asking all teachers and students to go to their school.”

The official announcement did not mention the female students. It is only indicated that primary schools have reopened earlier. Girls are allowed there.

A Taliban spokesman said the girls would soon be able to return to school, but “procedures” were in the works, he said. The BBC reports that schoolgirls and their parents see a bleak future. “I am very worried about my future,” one girl was quoted by the BBC as saying. Should I stay home and wait for someone to propose to me? Are women good for that alone?

Since the Taliban seized power, the new rules also apply to universities. Women can continue to study there, but only separate from men and veiled. Before the Taliban arrived, students and students were sitting together and there was no dress code.

On Saturday, UNESCO called for girls’ schools to reopen early in Afghanistan. Failure to do so would have “irreversible consequences” for half the Afghan population, warns the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization. She talks about a “serious violation of the fundamental right to education for girls and women.”