Taliban Bans Girls Aged 12 and Over from Attending School... "School Closure Order to Be Lifted Soon"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Taliban leadership in Afghanistan announced that they will soon lift the school closure order for female students aged 12 and above, following international criticism over the continued ban. Since reoccupying Kabul in August, the Taliban have prohibited female students aged 12 and above from attending middle and high schools, maintaining the school closure order and drawing criticism for depriving women of educational opportunities.

On the 18th (local time), Bilal Karimi, Taliban spokesperson, stated in an interview with EFE News Agency, "We will soon allow all female students to return to school," adding, "Work is underway to resume attendance for female middle and high school students aged 12 and above." Since retaking control of Afghanistan through the reoccupation of Kabul on August 15, the Taliban have imposed a school closure order on female students aged 12 and above for over two months, banning their attendance.

Earlier, on the 17th, Qari Sayed Khosti, spokesperson for the Taliban interim government's Ministry of Interior, said in an interview with Al Jazeera, "Female teachers will also return to schools along with female students," and "A specific schedule regarding the normalization of education will be announced soon." Although the Taliban promised the international community to guarantee women's rights and educational opportunities immediately after reoccupying Kabul, no practical measures have been implemented.

Previously, Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a human rights activist from Pakistan, urged the immediate allowance of female students' school attendance in a letter published on an international petition site on the 17th, stating, "Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world that bans education for female students." Education activists within Afghanistan are also reportedly organizing protests opposing the Taliban's policy on female middle and high school education.

Matiullah Wesa, head of the local education activist group PPCS, told EFE News Agency on the 18th that they are preparing nationwide protests using all means, including highway closures, to pressure the authorities to permit education for female middle and high school students.

During their first rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban completely deprived women of their rights to education and employment. After their recent reoccupation, they promised to respect women's rights, unlike before, but the atmosphere suggests these promises have yet to be properly fulfilled, drawing widespread international criticism.