Twenty women and girls demonstrated Saturday in Kabul to cries of
"open the schools"
, to protest against the Taliban's decision to close secondary education to girls, AFP journalists noted.
“Open the schools!
Fairness, fairness!”
chanted the demonstrators, initially gathered in a square in the capital, many of whom wore black abayas and scarves.
Read alsoIn Kabul, these Afghan women who defy the Taliban
Several held small posters on which one could read:
“You have taken my virtuous land, do not take my efforts and my education”
.
"The Taliban should open schools for girls because women are part of society, they cannot oppress the women of Afghanistan
," protester Laila Basim told AFP.
"Even the prophet said in his words that everyone has the right to education, but the Taliban snatched this right from us
," lamented Nawesa, a teenager, next to her.
The demonstration lasted less than an hour, before being dispersed by armed Taliban who arrived on the scene, it was noted.
The Taliban, in power in Afghanistan since August 2021, reversed their decision on Wednesday to allow girls to study in middle and high schools, just hours after the long-announced reopening.
The announcement, as brutal as it was unexpected, took place when many students had already returned to class.
It aroused numerous condemnations, including those of the UN, Unesco and even Western countries, including the United States and the European Union, which condemned
"an arbitrary decision"
and called on fundamentalist Islamists to
" urgently reconsider"
their decision.
Read alsoIn the land of the Taliban, the endless nightmare of Afghans
No clear explanation was given by the Ministry of Education for its about-face The decision would have come after a meeting Tuesday evening of senior officials in Kandahar (South), cradle and de facto center of power of the fundamentalist Islamist movement.
Only primary school classes are now authorized for girls.
The international community has made the right to education for all a stumbling block in negotiations on aid and recognition of the Taliban regime, as the country is plunged into a deep financial crisis, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation .
Afghan assets abroad are frozen and international aid - which financed nearly 75% of the Afghan budget - is beginning to return slowly after being stopped short.
Observers fear that the country's new masters will again ban school for girls, as they did during their first reign, from 1996 to 2001.
For seven months, the Taliban have imposed a multitude of restrictions on women.
They are barred from many government jobs, restricted in how they dress, and banned from traveling alone outside their towns.
They also arrested and detained several activists who had demonstrated for women's rights.
Saturday's protest is the first in many weeks to take place in the capital.