KABUL, Afghanistan — A group of women activists has launched a campaign titled “Let’s Study” to mark the start of the new academic year — and the fourth consecutive year that girls have been barred from secondary and higher education under Taliban rule.
In a statement released online, the activists condemned the Taliban’s ongoing restrictions on education for girls and women, calling the policy a “grave violation of human rights.” They said the new school year has begun without the presence of girls in classrooms, leaving an additional 400,000 students without access to education.
The campaign, organized by women’s rights protesters inside the country, urges the international community to reassess what they call “deceptive policies” toward the Taliban and to support Afghan women in their struggle for access to education.
Referring to the Taliban as “an ignorant and terrorist group,” the statement said the women no longer hold any expectations from the de facto authorities, whom they accuse of systematically oppressing women and violating human rights.
The campaign organizers also called on the international community to “return power to the Afghan people — just as it once handed it to the Taliban.”
Since regaining control in August 2021, the Taliban have banned girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and barred women from universities and most forms of employment, drawing condemnation from governments, rights organizations, and Islamic scholars around the world.
