The start of the fourth school year under Taliban rule with the deprivation of girls from education

The Taliban Ministry of Education today (Thursday, March 20) began the new school year with a ceremony in Kabul, marking the ringing of the school bells. This is the fourth consecutive year that secondary and high schools remain closed to girls in Afghanistan, and millions of girls above grade six are deprived of their right to education.

After taking control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban issued a decree banning girls from attending schools and universities. At today’s ceremony, officials from the group made no mention of reopening girls’ schools or any plans to restore women’s educational rights.

Habibullah Agha, the acting minister of education for the Taliban, claimed during the ceremony that the group prioritizes “the simultaneous development of religious and modern sciences” within the framework of Islamic Sharia and has planned for a “bright future” for Afghanistan. He added, “The Afghan society, in order to compete with the world, needs not only religious sciences but also modern sciences.”

However, he also referenced changes to the curriculum and emphasized that content contradicting “religious values and Afghan traditions” would be removed from educational programs. These remarks come after topics such as human rights education, gender, and parts of Afghanistan’s contemporary history have already been removed from textbooks.

The Taliban’s ban on girls’ education has faced widespread international condemnation and internal protests.

Despite the Taliban’s vague promises to review their educational policies, no concrete steps have been taken to bring girls back to school. The group’s policies regarding women’s education continue to clash with the demands of the international community and the wishes of a large segment of the Afghan population.