MWednesday, March 23, the Taliban ordered the closure of middle and high schools for girls in Afghanistan, just hours after they reopened. “Yes it’s true,” Taliban spokesperson Inamullah Samangani told Agence France-Presse without further comment, confirming reports that the girls had been asked to return home.
An AFP-TV crew was filming a lesson in a class at Zarghona High School for Girls in the capital Kabul on Wednesday morning when a teacher entered and ordered the students to go home. The latter, who were rejoicing in their return to school for the first time since the Islamic fundamentalists took power last August, closed their books, packed their things, and left the classroom in tears.
Education, a stumbling block in the negotiations
The international community has made the right to education for all a stumbling block in negotiations on aid and recognition of the fundamentalist Islamist regime. Several countries and organizations have proposed paying teachers.