Taliban reopen schools for Afghan boys, girls still not allowed in classes

Most educational institutions across Afghanistan have remained closed more than a month after the Taliban seized the capital Kabul. Girls up to Class 6 have attended classes at some of the schools that have managed to stay open and women have gone to university classes. But high schools for girls have been closed in Afghanistan.

Taliban officials have promised that girls will be able to go to school so long as they do so in segregated classrooms and they have said they will not replicate the fundamentalist policies of the previous Taliban government, which banned girls' education. However, women still are not allowed to continue their work in some of the provinces, with exceptions for those who have worked in health departments, hospitals and education.

The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) has welcomed the reopening of schools in Afghanistan from Saturday but said that girls must not be kept away from the classrooms. "We are deeply worried that many girls may not be allowed back at this time. Even before the most recent humanitarian crisis, 4.2 million children were not enrolled in school. Around 60 per cent of them are girls,” Unicef chief Henrietta Fore said in a statement on Friday.

"Girls cannot, and must not, be left behind. It is critical that all girls, including older girls, are able to resume their education without any further delays. For that, we need female teachers to resume teaching," Fore added.