Thousands of students in Kandahar and Helmand provinces have had their education cut short after the Taliban’s Ministry of Education ordered dozens of projects across the two provinces be suspended.
The directive issued on April 16 has led to the closure of educational centers supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Save the Children and other local organizations. The ministry did not provide a clear reason for the suspension but cited “observations” about the activities of the providers.
Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, the Taliban spokesperson for the Education Department in Kandahar, stated that the Ministry of Education has ordered a team to be appointed by the local authorities to investigate the activities of these projects. He added that the ban is short-term and will be lifted after the board’s investigations.
Following the order, 889 local classes were closed in Helmand province, depriving 32,700 students of education, including 21,013 male students and 11,687 female students. In Kandahar province, 1,588 educational classes have been closed, impacting 50,098 male and female students.
Since taking full control of Afghanistan, the Taliban has implemented a series of restrictions on education. Girls’ high schools have been closed for almost two years. And in December last year, the Taliban closed all universities across the country. According to estimates, at least four million female students in Afghanistan are currently deprived of education.
The United Nations, human rights organizations, and education rights activists have repeatedly said that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls do not have the right to education. It is also the only Islamic country with such a ban, despite the Taliban’s claim the rule is guided by Sharia law.
