Robert Besser
24 Mar 2023, 23:04 GMT+10
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan's education ministry has announced that the country's school year has begun, but the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, renewed calls for teenage girls to be able to attend classes.
After claiming they would open schools for all students last year, Taliban authorities made a U-Turn and banned girls from attending classes, causing global condemnation that has hampered the Islamist group's efforts to gain international recognition.
Afghan primary schools for girls have stayed open, but for the most part high schools have been closed.
In December, the Taliban banned female students from attending university, causing an international outcry and protests in some Afghan cities.
"As the new school year in Afghanistan begins, we rejoice in the millions of boys and girls returning to primary school classrooms. Yet, we are deeply disappointed not to see adolescent girls going back to their classrooms, as well," tweeted Fran Equiza, UNICEF's Afghanistan representative.
As a result of the Taliban ban, enrollment at female religious schools, the only remaining option for girls, has increased over the past year.
In the capital, Kabul, school openings appeared limited during Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which is widely celebrated in Afghanistan and had previously been a public holiday.
In 2022, Taliban authorities said they would not recognize Nowruz as a public holiday, but they did not prevent people from celebrating in private.
Get a daily dose of Kuala Lumpur Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kuala Lumpur Times.
More InformationIsrael has acknowledged and thanked the United States and President Joe Biden for standing firmly by Israel's side at the ...
NEW YORK: This week, New York City officials said that one person was killed and six others were injured when ...
NEW YORK, New York - The United Kingdom refrained from supporting demands for a ceasefire in the two-months long Israel-Gaza ...
NEW YORK, New York - The U.S. was alone on Friday in a 13-1 vote for a ceasefire in the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Associated Press (AP) reported that Manuel Rocha, a former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to ...
MADISON, Wisconsin: On November 30, Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury from Wisconsin pleaded guilty to firebombing a conservative anti-abortion group's office on ...
KATHMANDU, Nepal - The Rukum Paschim District Court sentenced 24 people to life in prison for their roles in the ...
NEW YORK: This week, ratings agency Moody's warned that it could downgrade China's credit rating, citing costs to bail out ...
TOKYO, Japan: This week, the U.S. Air Force said that divers have discovered the wreckage and the remains of five ...
VANDENBERG, California: South Korea successfully launched its inaugural military spy satellite, following North Korea's recent claim of deploying its own ...
JAKARTA, Indonesia: The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's Marapi volcano surged to 22 as rescuers discovered additional climbers ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - PM Sheikh Hasina is ranked 46th on Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in ...