Local authorities have reopened some girls’ high schools in Afghanistan for the first time since August of last year.
The move has not been approved by the government yet, authorities in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Paktia stressed, according to Reuters. Other authorities, including those in the province’s education department, claim that they were not notified of the move in advance and have sent a letter to the national education ministry to ask for approval.
“The schools have opened some days ago, the rules about Islam, culture, and customs are observed, the principal of schools asked the students to come back to school, and the girls’ high schools are open,” Mawlawi Khaliqyar Ahmadzai, the head of Paktia’s culture and information department, told the outlet.
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The school appears to be the first girls’ secondary school to open since the Taliban took power in August of last year. As part of their strict interpretation of Islam, the Taliban have largely forbidden education for women despite promises not to reverse efforts by the United States and the previous Afghan government to educate women.
However, the Taliban insist they intend to allow girls back to secondary school.
“There is no issue of banning girls from schools. It is only a technical issue of deciding on form of school uniform for girls. We hope the uniform issue is resolved and finalized as soon as possible,” Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s permanent ambassador-designate to the United Nations, told NPR.
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In March, Mawlawi Aziz Ahmad Ryan, the director of publications and a spokesman for the Ministry of Education, told the pro-Taliban Bakhtar News Agency that women’s secondary schools would be “closed until further notice.”
“After compiling a comprehensive plan in this field in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture and traditions, as well as the ruling of the Islamic Emirate, female schools and high schools will be officially informed,” the director said.
