Girls Barred from Tuition Centers after University Ban in Afghanistan

In addition to the ban on university education for girls, the Taliban also prevented girls from going to private tuition centers on Wednesday in the capital Kabul and some other provinces.

The Taliban forces had gathered in front of Atarud Tuition Center and did not allow the girls to enter the education center in the 4th district of Kabul, said a girl student in a message to Kabul Now on Wednesday, December 21.

“They (Taliban forces) even told us that they were also sad [for the decision]. You should not be mad at us because the order is from our superiors and we are forced to accept their orders,” the girl student quoted a Taliban force as responding to the barred girls from entering the tuition center.

Local sources in the northeastern Takhar province also confirmed that the Taliban forces prevented girls from entering tuition centers in Taloqan, the capital city of Takhar, on Wednesday.

A student from Jahish Educational Center in Taloqan said that the Taliban did not allow her and her female classmates to enter the educational center today around 07:00 AM local time.

Talking to Kabul Now, the Education Director of the Taliban in Takhar province, Mawlawi Mubashir, said that the decision to ban girls from tuition centers is made in line with the Taliban’s cabinet decision announced on Tuesday, December 20.

All educational centers are closed for girls following the order of the Ministry of Education, he added.

In an official letter sent to state and private universities, the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education indefinitely banned higher education for female students on Tuesday.

Higher education is “suspended” for female students until further notice, the letter reads.

The ban ignited strong global reactions with the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, the United States, the UK, Germany, Save the Children, and many more have already condemned it.

After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the group effectively banned girls from secondary education in March 2021.

Though some of the group’s officials repeatedly said that they were working on a plan to re-open schools for girls above the 6th grade, the plan never materialized.