The Taliban ordered the closure of middle and high schools for girls in Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 23, just hours after they reopened, a Taliban official confirmed.
” Yes, it’s true “Taliban spokesman Inamullah Samangani told Agence France-Presse (AFP) without further comment, confirming reports that the girls had been asked to return home.
An AFP-TV crew was filming a lesson in a class at Zarghona High School for Girls in the capital, Kabul, on Wednesday morning when a teacher entered and ordered the students to go home. The latter, who were rejoicing in their return to school for the first time since the Islamic fundamentalists took power in August, closed their books, packed their things, and left the class in tears. This same scene was noted by other journalists present in the country, like this BBC correspondent. State-run Bakhtar News Agency hints at reopening “if the clothes [des filles] are designed according to Sharia, Afghan customs and culture”.
The international community has made the right to education for all a stumbling block in negotiations on aid and recognition of the fundamentalist Islamist regime. Several countries and organizations have proposed paying teachers.