Taliban Official Says Ban on Girls’ Education Beyond Grade Six Will Continue

DID Press: Shahabuddin Delawar, head of the Taliban-run Afghan Red Crescent Society, has defended the continued ban on girls’ education beyond Grade Six, saying the restriction will remain in place until further notice under an order issued by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Delawar said the issue of women was not addressed in the Doha Agreement between the Taliban and the United States. Referring to Akhundzada’s order, he said the ban on girls’ education would remain in effect until further notice.

His remarks contrast with comments he made previously during a round of Doha negotiations, when he said women had the right to study up to the doctoral level and to work, and that the Taliban would be committed to those rights.For nearly five years, the Taliban authorities have kept girls’ secondary schools closed across Afghanistan, with no practical steps taken to reopen them.

The continued restrictions have deprived millions of Afghan girls of access to education beyond primary school.The ban has drawn sustained criticism from international organizations and human rights groups, which have called on the Taliban authorities to restore girls’ access to education.