Taliban Ban Girls From Getting Secondary Education In Afghanistan

Taliban Ban Secondary Education: The Taliban have effectively banned girls from secondary education in Afghanistan, by ordering high schools to re-open only for boys.

In an announcement made on Friday, Taliban said that boys will be back in the classrooms next week after a one-month break but excluded girls from it. "All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions,” the statement said leaving the future of girls and female teachers in jeopardy. With this step, Afghanistan becomes the only country to ban half its population from receiving secondary education.

Besides getting secondary education, there is a list of other strict Taliban bans for women in Afghanistan. For instance, it is mandatory for women on private co-education campuses to wear the niqab (a cover shielding most of the face save the eyes) and full robe. Classes are divided by a curtain dropped to segregate male and female students sharing a room. The aim is to minimise cross-mingling and interaction between the two genders. As per reports, women have been designated a waiting area where they are to stay until male students leave the building, following which they can too. In some areas of Afghanistan, co-education has been completely banned.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson of the interim government was quoted saying Afghan women could no longer pursue sports as the profession would “expose” their bodies in the media. They have also been asked not to step out in public places as their gunmen are “not trained” to co-exist with and respect women in public spaces. This led to many notable television presenters and women journalists to flee the country in the wake of a compromise on their safety. The government has also banned all protests against them which means Afghans are not allowed to agitate against the Taliban government.  Here's a list of other bans you should know about.