The new academic year has begun in the schools of Afghanistan but without millions of teenage girls as the Taliban administration barred women from education last year. Only Islamic schools (Darazgah) are open for girls of all ages.
Education Minister Habibullah Agha confirmed in a statement that schools up to grade six “will currently be open for girls”, effectively retaining a ban on high school for female students.
For two years, the Taliban has repeatedly claimed they will reopen secondary schools for girls once “conditions” meet, including re-modeling the syllabus along Islamic lines.
They have justified the school ban and curbs on women’s freedom due to a lack of a “safe environment”.
Some senior Taliban leaders, however, said that Islam granted women rights to education and work.
Notably, no majority Muslim country has closed educational institutions for women.