Taliban shut down high schools for girls hours after they reopen

In a major development in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime in Kabul had ordered the closure of secondary and high schools for girls on Wednesday, just hours after the schools reopened for the first time since their takeover last August. Talking to the local media on the issue, Taliban spokesman Inamullah Samangani said, “Yes, it’s true.”

The decision by the administration is likely to spark fresh concerns over girls’ education in the academic institutions in the war-torn country. The decision will also face condemnation from across the globe as it is contrary to the promises made by the Taliban after capturing power in Kabul when it had promised to protect the rights of women, children, and minorities. The recent developments will also strengthen the belief of the international community that the Taliban will rule Afghanistan like its previous regime that was in power between 1996 and 2001 when they suspended all freedom for women and minorities. After the takeover last August, the new rulers of the country allowed some schools for girls to reopen. Also, women were allowed to visit universities. Further, female students of the high schools were allowed to rejoin schools from March, as the spokesperson of the Taliban had also said last week that the schools have been asked to start from March 23.

Afghanistan, a country strategically located in South Asia has been seeing instability for the last 40 years – a period that started with an invasion by the erstwhile Soviet Union in the late 1970s and ended with the withdrawal of the United States-led NATO troops on August 31.

The recent conflict in Afghanistan had forced more than 700,000 Afghans to leave their homes and added them to the 5.5 million people already displaced over past years.