After the country’s new Taliban authorities ordered only boys and male instructors back to the classroom on Saturday, girls were barred from returning to secondary school.
Last month, the group deposed the US-backed administration, pledging a more moderate form of governance than its oppressive tenure in the 1990s, when women were mostly barred from school and employment.
The education ministry’s directive, however, was the latest step by the new administration to jeopardize women’s rights.
“All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions,” a statement said ahead of classes resuming on Saturday.
The message, which was released late Friday, made no mention of female instructors or students.
Secondary schools in Afghanistan are often separated by gender, with pupils ranging in age from 13 to 18. They were repeatedly closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and have been closed since the Taliban took control.
Significant progress has been achieved in girls’ education since a US-led invasion toppled the Taliban in 2001, with the number of schools almost tripling and female literacy nearly doubling to 30% — but the improvement has been mainly confined to the cities.
The United Nations stated it was “deeply worried” about the future of girls’ education in Afghanistan.
“It is critical that all girls, including older girls, are able to resume their education without any further delays. For that, we need female teachers to resume teaching,” the UN’s children’s agency, Unicef said.
Primary schools have reopened, with boys and girls in separate classrooms for the most part, with some female instructors returning to work.
Women may now attend private universities under the new system, but they must adhere to stringent dress and mobility limitations.
Women’s ministry comes to an end
The Taliban seemed to have shut down the government’s ministry of women’s affairs and replaced it with a department known for enforcing strict Islamic doctrine during their first reign, indicating that their attitude toward women and girls had not changed.
Workers were spotted raising a sign for the ‘Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’ in Kabul on Friday at the former Women’s Affairs building.
Women employees from the ministry were seen protesting outside after losing their jobs in videos uploaded on social media.
Requests for comment from the Taliban were not returned.
Afghan women have battled for and gained fundamental rights in the last 20 years, becoming lawmakers, judges, pilots, and police officers, despite their marginalization.
Hundreds of thousands have joined the labor, which has become necessary in certain instances as a consequence of decades of war since many women have been widowed or are now supporting ailing spouses.
The Taliban have shown little interest in upholding such rights; no women have been appointed to official positions, and many have been barred from returning to work.
