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Girls in Afghanistan (archive image): Secondary education only for boys again?
Photo: Eric LAFFORGUE / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
The Taliban have called on secondary schools to reopen to boys.
All public, private and official religious schools as well as other educational institutions in the country should resume school operations on Saturday, it said in a statement released by the Ministry of Education on Friday.
"For this purpose we ask all male teachers and students to visit their schools."
Schoolchildren and teachers are not mentioned in the declaration.
There was also no information on when schools could or should open to girls from the seventh grade onwards.
Secondary schools in Afghanistan, whose students are usually between 13 and 18 years old, are often gender segregated.
They were repeatedly hit by closings during the corona pandemic.
After the Taliban came to power, they remained closed for the time being.
The primary schools are already open.
Some teachers have also resumed their work.
Boys and girls also usually attend separate classes there.
New rules at universities too
Since the Taliban came to power, new rules also apply to universities.
It was said that women could continue their education, but only in separate classes from men and in veils.
Before that, students were taught in common classes; there were no dress codes.
During the first Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001, women in Afghanistan were largely banned from public life.
They were only allowed to leave the house in the company of male relatives.
If a woman was traveling alone, she was threatened with lashes.
Since the Taliban took power again in large parts of Afghanistan after the US troops withdrew around three weeks ago, women in the country have feared for their rights and for their lives.
The ultra-conservative Taliban had declared that they would respect women's rights within their interpretation of Islam.
But women shouldn't have much to expect from them.
The Islamists have replaced the Afghan government's women's ministry with a »ministry of virtues«.
Such an authority was responsible for flogging women during the first Taliban rule.
Most recently, the Taliban also presented parts of their transitional government.
All 33 named government members are Taliban members, mostly Pashtuns.
Members of other ethnic groups and other political groups as well as women were not taken into account.
lov / AP / dpa / Reuters