KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Taliban authorities in Ghazni province have detained a school principal, a teacher, and the director of an English language center after girls attended a school-related inauguration ceremony, local sources reported.
According to the sources, the three individuals, identified as Bostan Ali Fayyazi, principal of Mir Adina Girls’ High School, Etimati, a teacher at the school, and Feroza Rezaie, director of the language center, were taken into custody on Saturday during the opening of a community-funded project to rebuild the girls’ high school.
Sources said the ceremony had initially been allowed to go ahead after organizers separated female attendees from male participants, a condition reportedly set by Taliban officials. However, members of the Taliban’s virtue and vice department later returned to the venue and detained the three, taking them to the district office.
Local elders and villagers attempted to secure their release by visiting the district authorities, but were unsuccessful. Taliban officials told community representatives that the detainees would be held for at least 24 hours, the sources said.
According to the sources, the rebuilding project at Mir Adina Girls’ High School is the second initiative led by “Team Hamyari”, a community group that supports education for girls in the area. The project was due to be formally inaugurated on Saturday, but the ceremony was disrupted following the detentions.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on girls’ education and women’s participation in public life. Human rights groups and activists have repeatedly condemned these measures, describing them as a form of “gender apartheid” that discriminates against women solely because of their gender.
