KABUL (SW) – The Islamic Emirate authorities have been widely criticized for their move not to allow girls above grade six to resume studies at schools.
After months of waiting for all schools to reopen to girls across the country, the Ministry of Education of the Islamic Emirate announced today that the gates of schools for female students above the sixth grade will remain closed until further notice.
A number of students call this decision by the Ministry of Education as illegal and say that the Islamic Emirate seeks to justify and institutionalize the wrong policies behind this move. According to these students, the contradictory decisions of the Ministry of Education have a negative effect on them and cause them to distrust the Islamic Emirate.
“You see all the students returning, but there is no hope as to whether they will study tomorrow or not,” said Tanin, a student in Kabul. “It is playing with our lives. They (authorities) first told us to go to school, but when we came they say it is not allowed from 7th to 12th grade. What sort of law is this?”
Former President Hamid Karzai wrote on Twitter that the Islamic Emirate should not allow the plan of foreigners who want Afghanistan to be always in need and subordinate to others.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has also expressed regret over the Islamic Emirate’s announcement banning girls from returning to school.
The Amnesty International has expressed concern over the Ministry of Education’s decision, saying that the international community must take immediate action to provide education for girls in Afghanistan.
“I had one hope for today: that Afghan girls walking to school would not be sent back home. But the Taliban did not keep their promise. They will keep finding excuses to stop girls from learning – because they are afraid of educated girls and empowered women. #LetAfghanGirlsLearn”, tweeted the Noble laureate Malala Yosufzai.
The Islamic Emirate authorities have cited consultations for Sharia-compliant dress code for girls as the reason behind not reopening their schools across the country.
The Bakhtar state news agency reported that the Ministry of Education had issued a statement saying that all girls’ schools (secondary and high schools) would be closed until the ministry’s next order.
The statement said that if the school uniform is designed in accordance with Afghan law, customs and culture, then the corresponding schools will resume studies according to the ruling of the leadership of the Islamic Emirate.
A day earlier, the Ministry of Education had announced the opening of schools across the country for all girls from the first to the twelfth grade.
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