Taliban Fails to Reopen Girls’ Schools, Closes Them Instead
On the day the Taliban’s Ministry of Education promised to reopen girls’ schools in Afghanistan, it announced that these schools would remain closed until further notice. In a statement on the matter, reference was made to the issue of “appropriate school uniforms.”
Wednesday, March 23 (Farvardin 3) could have been an important day for schoolgirls in Afghanistan. With the Taliban’s promise to “reopen girls’ schools,” girls were supposed to be allowed to attend classes like boys starting that day. However, according to published reports, the Taliban’s decision did not last, and girls’ schools remain closed “until further notice.”
According to a report by “Tolo News” (a news network in Afghanistan), Aziz Ahmad Rayan, spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Education, said: “All girls’ schools above sixth grade will remain closed until further notice.” According to him, “the final decision on this will be made by the leadership of the Islamic Emirate.”
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Education on this matter, reference was made to the issue of “appropriate school uniforms.” According to this statement, “whenever school uniforms are designed according to Islamic law and Afghan culture, then based on the ruling of the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, the aforementioned schools [girls’ schools] will commence.”
The prevention of girls from attending school has also had widespread resonance on social media. Videos and photographs have been published on these networks showing schoolgirls with tears in their eyes asking: “Is it a sin that we are girls? Is it a sin that we study?”
