(MENAFN) Afghanistan's schools reopened for the new academic year on Tuesday, but no classes were held as students were unaware of the start, and hundreds of thousands of teenage girls remain barred from attending class. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are prohibited from going to secondary school. Since storming to power in August 2021 after the withdrawal of the US-led foreign forces that backed the previous governments, Taliban authorities have imposed an austere interpretation of Islam.
The education ministry made no public announcement of the reopening of schools, and few students and teachers were seen at the schools that journalists toured in Kabul and other provinces. The start of the new academic year coincided with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which was widely celebrated in Afghanistan before the Taliban returned to power but is now unacknowledged by the country's new rulers.
Hundreds of thousands of teenage girls remain barred from secondary school, despite calls from the international community to allow them to attend. The Taliban's treatment of women and girls has been a major concern for many, and the international community has expressed fears that their rights will be rolled back under Taliban rule. The Taliban has said that it will allow girls to attend school, but only if they are taught separately from boys and if they wear the full-face veil.
The situation in Afghanistan remains uncertain, and the Taliban's treatment of women and girls is just one of many issues of concern. The international community has called on the Taliban to respect human rights and allow freedom of expression, but it remains to be seen whether they will honor these calls.
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