Afghan girls appear in schools again after 9 months under Taliban

Kabul: Girls under Taliban rule now are enthusiastic to rejoin schools following the authority's announcement of reopening secondary schools in Afghanistan. Schools had been shut for over nine months since Taliban took the control of the government.

All the schools in the country were shut at the peak of COVID cases since August, but Taliban relaxed some rules to allow boys and young girls after two months.

The international community has made the right to education for all a sticking point in negotiations over aid and recognition of the new regime, with several nations and organizations offering to pay teachers.

Facilitation of education for all was one of the key points which the international community insisted on as a vow to providing aid and recognition of the new regime during the negotiations. Many countries and global organisations have also offered pay for teachers.

An Education Ministry statement said that the schools across several provinces will start functioning from Wednesday, while schools in the southern region of Kandahar will be scheduled to reopen from next month.

The Taliban termed the decision to reopen schools as its objective, and doing so does not mean falling to pressure from international community. "We are not reopening the schools to make the international community happy, nor are we doing it to gain recognition from the world," said Aziz Ahmad Rayan, a ministry spokesman.

The Taliban had insisted they wanted to ensure schools for girls aged 12 to 19 were segregated and would operate according to Islamic principles.