Several Afghan parents and students have urged the Taliban to reopen the secondary schools for girls, which have been closed for the past 544 days, according to Khaama Press.
Students' parents expressed concern for their children's futures on Saturday, pleading with authorities to allow their daughters to return to school.
The families claimed that school closures had a negative impact on their children, who had developed psychiatric disorders. Parents requested that the school reopen beyond the sixth grade on March 21 to begin the new academic year.
The families claimed that school closures had a negative impact on their children, who had developed psychiatric disorders. Parents requested that the school reopen beyond the sixth grade on March 21 to begin the new academic year.
Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, schooling above grade six has been closed, preventing girls and women from attending universities or working with non-governmental organizations, according to Khaama Press.
Although the interim administration insisted that the ban on girls' education was temporary and that it would be lifted once the environment was suitable, more than a year and a half has passed. However, the environment is still unsuitable for female university students.
The previous year, on September 18, Afghanistan's high schools opened their doors to boys, while the Taliban ordered girls to stay at home.
The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on women's and girls' rights to free expression, association, assembly, and movement.
The Taliban's decision to prohibit female students above the sixth grade from attending school has sparked widespread outrage on both the national and international levels. Furthermore, the Taliban regime, which took over Kabul in August of last year, has restricted women's rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the labor force as a result of the economic crisis and restrictions.
The Taliban recently prohibited female students from taking university entrance exams scheduled for next month, according to Afghan media.
The Taliban Ministry of Higher Education has notified universities that the girls will be unable to take the exams until further notice. They appear to have prohibited girls from registering for the 1402 (solar year) university entrance exam.
As a result, women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights crisis, with no access to basic rights such as non-discrimination, education, work, public participation, and health.
