By: Rukhshana Media
Nearly a dozen protesters, mostly schoolgirls, gathered outside Sayyid Ul Shuhada High School, demanding the reopening of girls’ schools in Afghanistan, on Thursday, 31th of March.
“Let us go to school,” read a banner held by the protesters.
Sayyid Ul Shuhada high school was the target of deadly ISIS attack in May 2021 which left nearly 100 dead and over 200 wounded. Most victims were schoolgirls. The school is located in west Kabul, a predominantly Shia Hazara district.
The Taliban reopened schools last week but didn’t allow girls of above sixth grade to return to their classes.
The protesters urged Afghan parents to support their daughters’ rights to education.
“I hoped the international community and the United Nations would pay attention to these girls’ advocacy for the reopening of schools in Afghanistan,” said Somaiya Haqjo, a student of Sayyid Ul Shuhada school.
Afghan Women’s Movement for Justice and Freedom’s members also condemned the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education.
“The Taliban have deprived girls of their most basic rights,… and violated the basic rights of half of the Afghan society,” the group said in a statement.
“We strongly urge the Taliban-led government to open the gates of schools for girls,” the statement added.
