Kabul: A protest was staged in Kabul against the Taliban-led government's decision not to reopen schools for girls from classes 7-12 across Afghanistan.
At the protest on Saturday staged at the gate of the Ministry of Education, participants were chanting slogans like "education is our absolute right", "we are tired of ignorance", "shame on the international community", "you took my land, don't take my education" and "seeking education is obligatory on male and female", Khaama Press reported.
The demonstration was attended by parents, female activists, students and a few young men. "We gathered today to voice this shared pain and to not allow a generation to be deprived of education," TOLO News quoted Monisa, a female rights activist, as saying at the protest.
Fatima, a student, saud that she was "going to study in grade 11, but unfortunately, when the Taliban came to power, our schools were closed. As the boys have the right to education, we girls also have the right". On March 23, the Ministry of Education announced that girls only up to grade 6th will be allowed to attend classes while the others have to wait until further notice. The Ministry further said that it has sent a plan to the Prime Minister's Office, reports TOLO News.
Aziz-ur-Rahman Rayan, a spokesman for the Ministry, said all preparations had been made for the re-opening of schools, but that the group's central leadership had ordered them to stay closed until, "a comprehensive plan has been prepared according to Sharia and Afghan culture", the BBC reported. Since the fall of Afghanistan in August last year, only girls' primary schools have remained open, along with all boys' schools in most parts of the country. Before the Taliban took power, secondary schools in Afghanistan were already segregated by gender, whilst the uniform consisted of a black outfit and white hijab.
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