Dozens of female teachers, students and women’s rights activists organized rallies in Kabul today, Saturday, against the ban on girls’ enrollment in schools after the sixth grade, which was decided by the Afghan government – led by the Taliban – suddenly a few days ago.
Local media published video footage of a few dozen women with girls in school uniforms carrying textbooks, demanding their rights to study and work in Afghanistan and calling for the reopening of girls’ schools across the country.
The Taliban had harassed participants in similar protests. One of the organizations told the German that the march began in front of the Ministry of Education in the capital and ended peacefully.
More than a million Afghan girls had prepared last Wednesday to return to school, but they were deported following the last-minute cancellation of the Afghan government’s decision to reopen schools for them.
The militant movement, which took power in the country in a blitzkrieg in August 2021, did not give any justification for the transformation, which sparked a nationwide protest, and international organizations and world governments also called on the Taliban to reconsider its decision immediately.
sudden decision
A report published by Al Jazeera Net a few days ago indicated that everything was ready to start studying in middle and secondary schools in Afghanistan after the winter break. their homes until further notice.
What is surprising for many Afghans is that in exchange for the postponement of studies in Kabul schools and other states in the center and north of the country, schools in other states such as Herat, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Khost and Konar continued to operate, as the cold winter in them recedes before other states.
At the Amani Secondary School for Boys (in the center of Kabul), a large hall was filled with dignitaries and invitees, on an occasion that was supposed to be festive and give more optimism, but the students contented themselves with presenting some religious songs, and speeches were given about the status of science and scholars by some officials, while he did not speak Someone about girls’ education.
After the ceremony, none of the Taliban-led government officials spoke, but rather the absence of many prominent figures from the ceremony. After a long wait, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Aziz Ahmed Rayan, came forward to comment to reporters that some girls were crying because they heard the news of the postponement of studies.
In response to a question by Al Jazeera about the existence of a time frame for reopening girls’ schools, Rayan said that the Ministry of Education could not set a date, noting that they were waiting for a decision from Taliban leader Hebatullah Akhundzada.
At the same time, he affirmed the ministry’s pledge to educate girls, and that there is no decision to prevent their education, but it is a matter of time until schools open again.
