Enlarge image
Girls in a school in Kabul (archive shot)
Photo: HEDAYATULLAH AMID / EPA-EFE
The Taliban have been back in power in Afghanistan for several months - with devastating consequences for the population.
As a result, many girls have no chance of going to school: the Islamists reversed this decision shortly after the secondary schools were officially opened on Wednesday.
Thousands of schoolgirls were sent home after a few hours on their first day of classes since August.
A group of Western countries are now calling on the Taliban to correct this.
This is a necessary step "in order to become a respected member of the community of nations," said the foreign ministers of Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Norway and the USA, as well as the EU foreign policy representative.
"The actions of the Taliban are in contradiction to their public assurances to the Afghan people and the international community," officials of the western states said.
The decision must urgently be reversed.
The consequences went "far beyond the damage to Afghan girls."
Women's right to education is one of the main conditions of the international community for aid to the unrecognized Taliban government.
When the Islamists took power in August last year, they officially closed all schools because of the corona pandemic.
Two months later, only boys and a few younger girls were allowed to resume classes.
During the previous Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001, women were already banned from education and many jobs.
The Taliban's change of course had caused great confusion, and the Islamists did not provide a conclusive explanation.
As the AFP news agency learned from Islamist circles, the decision to close the schools was made after a meeting of high-ranking officials in Kandahar on Tuesday evening.
as /AFP