Afghan girls to return to secondary schools soon – Taliban

Afghanistan girls will be allowed to return to secondary schools soon, according to the Ministry of Interior Affairs.

A spokesman for the interior ministry, Qari Saeed Khosty said on Sunday that, the exact timing will be announced by the Ministry of Education.

“From my understanding and information, in a very short time all the universities and schools will be reopened and all the girls and women will return to school and their teaching jobs,” he said.

“This is something that we’ve been hearing from the Taliban since they took power. Yes, they’re going to return. But it’s going to take time. And of course, that’s taking a toll on a lot of the girls.

“They want to go back to school, they want to continue their studies. This is also one of the demands of the international community for the Taliban to protect and safeguard the rights of girls and women to go to school and to work.”

When the Taliban took power in August, the armed group promised to uphold the rights of girls and women. But its actions since have worried the international community.

Teenage girls were told to stay home from school until a safe learning environment could be established. But boys in all grades and girls of primary age were told to return to school.

It has sent mixed signals about women returning to work in government offices and has forced universities to enact policies of gender segregation in order to reopen.

It also named an all-male cabinet, saying women could be included later.

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Kamila/Al-Jazeera