On Wednesday, the Taliban in Afghanistan stopped females in grades 6 and up from returning to school, which had been widely anticipated, according to CNN.
The Taliban ordered females' schools to close just hours before they were scheduled to open. For the past 187 days, Afghan teenage females have been denied their access to an education.
Under mounting international pressure, the Taliban first stated that schools will reopen for all pupils – including females – after the Afghan new year, which falls on March 21, on the condition that boys and girls be pided either by schools or by learning hours.
According to the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency, girls in grades 6 and up were advised to stay at home until a school uniform suited to Sharia and Afghan customs and culture could be prepared.
The decision is expected to be widely condemned around the world. The Taliban's move was described as "disappointing" by US diplomats.
Tamana, 18, told CNN that she came at school on Wednesday morning to begin her senior year but was denied entry owing to security concerns.
"I couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited to go back to school after being out for eight months," she said. "However, when I and many other girls arrived at our school gate this morning, we were told to go home and wait until further notice," she said, adding that her dreams had been shattered once more. "All of my classmates were in tears when they returned home."
"Assures the people of our nation once again that it is fully dedicated to ensuring the rights of our compatriots to education," the education ministry said in a statement.
The UN mission in Afghanistan responded with a tweet on Wednesday, saying it "deplores" the Taliban's decision to extend their "indefinite prohibition on female pupils above the sixth grade being allowed to return to school."
The US Embassy in Kabul's Chief of Mission, Ian McCary, who is presently based in Doha, said he was "very concerned" by reports that females were not being permitted to return to school, writing on Twitter that the news was "extremely disappointing & defies previous Taliban guarantees & pronouncements." Every Afghan adolescent deserves to be educated."
US Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights Rina Amiri expressed similar worries, saying the measure "weakens faith" in the Taliban and "further crushes the expectations of families for a better future for their children."
Afghanistan reopened some of its colleges to male and female students this month, after they were closed during the Taliban's takeover in August.
Before allowing female students back into the classroom, the Taliban stated that it needed to establish up a secure transit system.
When the Taliban were in control between 1996 and 2001, they prohibited women and girls from attending school or working.
Taliban spokesman Zabiulah Mujahid told CNN in September 2021 that women will be able to study, but a so-called "decree on women's rights" issued in December of same year neglected to mention education or work.
The Taliban also barred women from taking long-distance car excursions in Afghanistan on their own in December, requiring them to be accompanied by a male relative for any travel greater than 45 miles.
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