Taliban closes Afghan girls’ schools hours after reopening

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has backtracked on its earlier promise of allowing girls return to schools, after it announced that all girls’ high schools in the country will be closed, hours after they reopened for the first time in nearly seven months.

The backtracking by the Taliban administration means that female students above the sixth grade will not be able to attend school.

A notice by the Ministry of Education on Wednesday stated that schools for girls would remain closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture, according to a government news outlet, the Bakhtar News Agency

“We inform all girls’ high schools and those schools that are having female students above class six that they are off until the next order,” the notice said.

Taliban spokesman, Inamullah Samangani, who confirmed the closure of the schools to journalists, said the girls had been ordered to remain at home for the time being.

“Yes, it’s true. The girls have been ordered to remain at home till a plan is drawn up according to Islamic law,” he said.

Before the sudden closure, the Ministry of Education had announced last week that schools for all students, including girls, would open around the country on Wednesday – the first day of Afghanistan’s new school year – after months of restrictions on education for high school-aged girls.

On Tuesday evening, a ministry spokesman released a video congratulating all students on their return to class, but their enthusiasm was dampened a few hours later with the administration’s announcement of the closure.

The last time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, the regime had banned female education and most female employment. But after returning to power in August last year, they had promised a reform and opportunities for girls’ education and employment.

But so far, the Taliban have imposed a slew of restrictions on women, effectively banning them from many government jobs, policing what they wear and preventing them from travelling outside of their cities alone.