Thousands of girls were left distraught at school gates across Afghanistan yesterday after a last-minute decision by the Taliban to ban those aged over 12 years old.
Earlier in the week the education ministry had urged “all students” to return for the start of the new school year. Instead, girls hoping to begin their high school careers were told by Taliban officials that the schools would reopen only once a decision had been made in accordance with “Sharia and Afghan tradition”.
Officials blamed the late reversal on a “uniform issue”. Aziz Ahmad Rayan, a ministry spokesman, added: “In Afghanistan, especially in the villages, the mindsets are not ready. We have some cultural restrictions.”
Pupils wept outside their school gates while others told how they had made it as far as the classroom before being told that they had to leave. Small protests broke out at some schools but quickly dissolved.
“We were refused entry,” Sumaya Mohsini, 15, said at Zarghona High School in central Kabul. “I’m devastated. I was so happy as I got ready for school and packed my bag, but to come here and be told we cannot return to our lessons, it’s just the worst feeling.
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“I spent the first five months [after the Taliban takeover] barely leaving my home. Eventually I began attending a private course and then I heard we’d be allowed to go back to school. I was so excited, so was my father. My dream is to become a surgeon but that dream is slowly slipping away.”
A visibly upset Zahra Mohibi, 15, said she was worried her ambition of becoming a midwife was in jeopardy.
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Fatima Hosaini, 48, travelled to the school to find out if her daughter would be allowed to return. “It’s just awful news,” she said. “Those who don’t have access to an education are illiterate. I’ve never had a job but I want my daughter to have a career. It is the only way to survive.”
A teacher at Zarghona said they had learnt of the decision at 7am yesterday.
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Rina Amiri, the US special envoy to Afghanistan, tweeted that the move “weakens confidence in the Taliban commitments” and “further dashes the hopes of families for a better future for their daughters”.
Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement that the ban was “deeply damaging” for Afghanistan.
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said that the decision to suspend girls’ high schools was “deeply damaging for Afghanistan”. He added in a statement: “The denial of education not only violates the equal rights of women and girls to education. I urge the Taliban de facto authorities to open schools for all students without any further delay.”
Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban representative to the UN, insisted that the closure was temporary. “There is no issue of banning girls from schools; it is only a technical issue of deciding on [a] form of school uniform. This is the cause of postponement. We hope the uniform issue is resolved and finalised as soon as possible.”
However, Fazal Ahmad Fazal, head of Afghanistan’s national teachers’ union, said he was not convinced. “A uniform is a simple issue so my belief is the issue is something else — I think [the government] is working on a major policy overhaul concerning girls’ education.” He added: “Seven months is a long time and they’ve managed to bring younger girls back to education, so why not girls above grade six?”
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The union is due to meet the minister of education on Saturday. “This is not only affecting students but also teachers who remain out of work, and it’s also upsetting for them to see their students being denied an education,” Fazal said.
Many hardline Islamic scholars in Afghanistan are known to disagree with the move to allow girls to return to high school. Shafiullah Azam, a foreign ministry official, said: “If we do not provide our children with religious and modern education in the spirit of Islam in the homeland, others will open their educational doors to them and train them against our sanctities.”
Lana Nusseibeh, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the UN, urged the Taliban this month to allow all girls to return to education, adding that to do so was “fully compatible” with Islam.
The Taliban have imposed a slew of restrictions on women since taking power in August last year, effectively banning them from many government jobs, policing what they wear and preventing them from travelling outside of their cities alone. They have also detained several women’s rights activists.
Even if the schools do reopen fully there are barriers in place for girls, with many parents suspicious of the Taliban and reluctant to allow their daughters outside the family home. Others see little point in girls pursuing higher education in a country with such limited opportunities for them, even in the private sector.
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“Those girls who have finished their education have ended up sitting at home and their future is uncertain,” said Heela Haya, 20, from Kandahar, who decided to quit school. “What will be our future?”
