Calls for all girls to be allowed back in classes as Afghan school year begins

The school year in Afghanistan began on Tuesday, the education ministry said, as the United Nations (UN) children’s agency renewed calls for teenage girls to return to class.

A year ago, after signaling that they would open schools to all students, the Taliban authorities made a U-turn, leaving many girls in high school classes in tears and prompting global condemnation that blocked the Taliban’s efforts to achieve formality. international recognition.

Since then primary schools for girls have remained open but most secondary schools have been closed and the Taliban banned female students from universities in December, prompting international outcry and protests in several Afghan cities.

A letter from the education ministry confirming the official start of the school year after the winter break this week did not mention any changes in access for girls. The head of the UN children’s agency in Afghanistan said authorities must open schools for all students to continue socialization and skill building as well as academic learning.

“As the new school year in Afghanistan begins, we are happy that millions of boys and girls are returning to primary school classes. However, we are deeply disappointed that we do not see teenage girls also returning to class,” said Fran Equiza, UNICEF. Afghanistan’s representative, in a tweet.

As many Afghan women continue to call for schools to reopen, enrollment in women’s religious schools — the only remaining option — has risen in the past year.

In Kunduz province, one of the few northern provinces where some girls’ high schools have remained open for the past year, authorities said they were closed for now.

“This year the school is open up to the sixth grade for girls, we are waiting for further news about the middle class,” Mohammed Ismail Abu Ahmad, head of Kunduz’s education department told Reuters.

In the capital Kabul, school openings appear to be limited to Tuesday which falls on Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebrated in Afghanistan and previously a public holiday.

Taliban authorities said last year that they would not recognize Nowruz as a public holiday, although they did not ban people from celebrating it privately.