Afghan families call on Taliban to reopen schools for girls

KABUL: Families in Afghanistan called on the Taliban yet again to open schools for girls in grades 7 to 12 as they are worried about the future of their daughters in the country under the regime of the organisation, TOLOnews reported. This comes as Afghanistan enters a new education year, however, the female students in the country are still denied their basic right to attain education.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, schooling above grade six has been closed, which, later in December last year, barred girls and women from going to universities and working with NGOs. In a statement given to TOLOnews, the families lamented over the ongoing situation in the country and said that the cruel decision of the de facto authorities has put the future of their daughters at stake.

"I have four grandchildren who did not attend school and are now staying with me. They should decide whether or not to attend school," Kabul resident Abdul Jalil said. In a separate statement, another resident, Raziq said, "I have two daughters. One of them is in grade 8 and another one is in grade 10. We are calling on the Islamic Emirate to allow them to go to their schools."

This comes as female pupils have also expressed sadness over their schools closing. Zainab, a student, stated, "We urge the Islamic Emirate to reopen the schools for us so that we can finish our education," according to TOLOnews. "We request the current government to reopen the doors of the schools for us in the coming year," a student said.

Furthermore, the closure of schools for females in Afghanistan has affected the stationery vendors heavily. They claimed that the closure of schools for female students had an impact on their industry. "It has had an 80% impact on us. As good as the market was before, it is not anymore," TOLOnews quoted Rafiullah, a stationary seller as saying.

Although the interim administration insisted that the ban on girls' education was temporary and that they would permit it once the environment was appropriate, more than one and a half years have passed since then. However, the environment is still unsuitable for girls attending universities and schools. The previous year, on September 18, the high schools in Afghanistan opened their gates to boys whereas girls were ordered to stay at home by the Taliban.

Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement for women and girls. The Taliban's decision to ban female students above grade six from going to school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels.

Further, the Taliban regime which took over Kabul in August last year has curtailed women's rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions.