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Taliban Closes Girls’ Schools in Afghanistan Hours After They Were Reopened for New School Year

The Taliban, which controls Afghanistan, announced on Wednesday the closure of girls’ high schools, hours after they reopened for the first time in more than half a year. This means that only Afghan females in grades six and under will continue to attend school. The closure comes after Ministry of Education in Afghanistan confirmed to Reuters last week that all schools in the Taliban-led country would open to all boys and girls, though female students were to be taught separately from boys by only female teachers. The Ministry of Education announced on Wednesday that schools for girls would be closed until a plan was drawn up “in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture,” Al Jazeera reported, citing the government news agency Bakhtar. A video had been released by the Education Ministry on Tuesday night welcoming all students back to school. Among the other issues preventing the continued operation of schools is a shortage of teachers, many that fled the country when the Taliban took over in August after the exit of US troops and other foreign troops from the country, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Education Ministry. At the time of the takeover, schools in Afghanistan were closed due to the coronavirus; Wednesday was the official start of the school year. This is not the first time that women and girls have been prevented from attending school – the last time was between 1996 and 2001, when the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan.