Taliban bans teenage girls from studying; Afghan girls are back in school but sent home

On Wednesday (23) Afghan teens returned to secondary schools, seven months after the Taliban took power. But a few hours later, leaders of the Islamic government sent the students back to their homes.

Taliban spokesman Inamullah Semanghani confirmed this information, without giving further details. “We are not authorized to comment,” said Aziz Ahmed Rayan, a representative of the Ministry of Education.

“I see my students crying and reluctant to leave the classroom,” said Balucha, a teacher at the Omra Khan Women’s School in Kabul. “It’s so sad to see our students cry.” The UN envoy to the country, Deborah Lyons, said the information regarding the closures of the institutions was “alarming”.

When the Taliban seized power in August 2021, schools were closed due to the pandemic. Only boys and girls in primary schools were allowed to return to classes after two months.

The international community considers girls’ access to schools a key point in the negotiations for recognition of the Taliban regime, which in its previous mandate (1996-2001) banned the education of women.

On Wednesday (23), back to school did not occur in the same way across the country. It is scheduled to return next month in Kandahar, in the south, the birthplace of the Taliban. But several schools opened in the capital and in areas like Herat or Panjshir for a few hours.

The Taliban claimed they needed time to ensure that girls between the ages of 12 and 19 were kept well separated from boys and that schools were run according to Islamic principles. “We do not open schools to please the international community or to gain recognition from the world,” said Ahmed Rayan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education.

“We do this as part of our responsibility to provide educational and learning structures for our students,” he added. Many students were excited to return to class, despite rules requiring them to wear full-length clothing. “We were really late for our studies,” 17-year-old Rehana Azizi complained.

During seven months of rule, the Taliban imposed several restrictions on women, who were excluded from public employment, faced with restrictions on their dress and prevented from traveling alone outside their cities.

The fundamentalist regime also arrested many activists who defended women’s rights. “Girls who have completed their studies stay at home and their future is uncertain,” Haila Haya laments that she has decided to drop out of school.

“What will our future be?” asks the young woman. “Why do you and your family make such sacrifices for the girl to study if she can’t get her dream career?” asks Sahar Fitrat, research associate at Human Rights Watch.

Poverty and conflict in the country have left Afghan students missing several academic years. Some continue their studies until the age of twenty. The country also faces a shortage of teachers: many fled with tens of thousands of Afghans after the Taliban seized power.