The Taliban government in Afghanistan shuttered girls secondary schools just hours after allowing them to reopen.
Taliban officials issued the notice on Wednesday while classes were in session, forcing many students to leave school in disarray. The sudden decision reflects growing concerns that the modern Taliban will continue to oppress women.
“Hearing disturbing reports that female students above the sixth grade will not be invited back to school by the authorities,” the United Nations’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons tweeted on Wednesday. “If true, what could possibly be the reason?”
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U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan Thomas West called the closure “a betrayal of public commitments to the Afghan people and the international community.”
“The Taliban have made clear that ALL Afghan citizens have a right to education. For the sake of the country’s future and its relations with the international community, I would urge the Taliban to live up to their commitments to their people,” West tweeted.
A spokesperson for the Taliban confirmed the reports to the Agence France-Presse but declined to provide the reasons for the closing.
“We are not allowed to comment on this,” a spokesperson for the Afghan Education Ministry told the outlet.
A notice was released by the Taliban saying the schools would reopen after Taliban leaders decided which uniforms the students wore, noting the clothes must be in accordance with “Shariah law and Afghan tradition,” reported the BBC.
The decision drew anger from female students and their parents. Several girls decided to protest outside of the closed schools after they were told they were closed.
Girls protesting after the Taliban locked them out of their schools, again. pic.twitter.com/im5zEi9rfo
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“It’s very disappointing that girls who were waiting for this day [were] made to return from school. It shows that Taliban are not reliable and cannot fulfill their promises,” Afghan politician and journalist Shukria Barakzai told Al-Jazeera.
“It means that secondary and high schools are banned for girls. Even primary schools are not open across the country. Most of the provinces do not have girls primary schools,” Barakzai added. “It shows that the Taliban is exactly the same as before — they are against girls’ education.”
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Afghanistan’s minister of education announced last week that schools for all students, including girls, would open across the country on Wednesday. The announcement was contrary to prior Taliban policy, which placed several restrictions on women’s ability to attend educational institutions.
While the Taliban banned female education and employment the last time it was in power, leaders have attempted to present themselves as a “new” Taliban by promising to provide opportunities for education and employment. However, the leaders have continued to limit opportunities for them within their borders with restrictive actions, such as replacing the country’s women’s ministry with one dedicated to the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” last September.
