KABUL, Afghanistan — Amnesty International has called on the Taliban to immediately lift their ban on female education and allow girls of all ages to return to school, accusing the group of using “cynical pretexts” to justify a discriminatory policy.
In a statement posted on social media, the rights group condemned the continued exclusion of girls above the sixth grade as Afghanistan’s new academic year begins.
“This is unjustifiable and in violation of the fundamental human right to education,” the organization said. “The Taliban must allow girls of all ages to attend school and stop using cynical pretexts to further its discriminatory agenda.”
The statement follows warnings from the United Nations Children’s Fund that an additional 400,000 girls have been affected by the education ban this year alone — adding to the more than 2 million already out of school since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The ban has drawn widespread condemnation from international human rights groups, Western governments and many Islamic countries, who have urged the Taliban to reverse course.
Despite mounting pressure, the Taliban have maintained the restriction, offering little indication that schools will reopen for older girls in the near future.
