Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
KABUL — The Taliban have intensified their clampdown on girls’ education in Afghanistan by prohibiting girls above the sixth grade from attending private educational institutions in the western province of Herat.
A directive issued on December 24 by the Taliban’s director of education in Herat cited an order from Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s supreme leader, mandating the restriction “until further notice.”
The order has been disseminated to key institutions, including teacher training departments, district education offices in Injil and Guzara, the Taliban’s intelligence directorate, and Herat’s union of private educational centers, with instructions for strict enforcement.
Girls in Herat expressed frustration over the escalating restrictions, criticizing the international community for its inaction. “The world is just watching as our rights are taken away,” one young woman said.
This latest measure is part of a series of increasingly stringent restrictions targeting Afghan women and girls since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Girls have already been barred from attending schools beyond the sixth grade and universities, while women have been excluded from working with non-governmental organizations, effectively sidelining them from public life.
On December 2, the Taliban extended their crackdown by banning women and girls from pursuing medical education—a decision condemned by rights groups and international observers, who warned it would cripple Afghanistan’s fragile healthcare system.
Despite global outcry, including calls for sanctions and demands for the Taliban to uphold human rights, the group continues to double down on its hard-line policies, leaving Afghan women and girls with diminishing prospects for education and employment.
