RASC News Agency: Reliable sources from Faryab province report that the Taliban have informed residents that, beginning next year, girls will be barred from attending school beyond the third grade. During a recent meeting in Lolash district, Ghayasuddin Agha, the senior advisor to the Taliban’s Ministry of Education, reportedly conveyed this decision. Sources revealed that Agha stated only primary schools for girls up to the third grade would be allowed to operate starting next academic year. A source speaking to RASC News on Wednesday, January 8, added that Agha even acknowledged the potential for a complete closure of girls’ schools in the near future. He reportedly explained that Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, firmly opposes the idea of educating girls and has dictated these policies.
While Agha himself is said to support reopening girls’ schools, the source noted that the Taliban leadership’s rigid stance leaves no room for change. In similar remarks earlier, Taliban officials in Takhar province argued that girls do not need formal education. Instead, they claimed, mothers could educate their daughters at home until they reach maturity, at which point they should be married. Since reclaiming power, the Taliban have systematically dismantled women’s access to education. Universities have been entirely closed to women, and girls have been barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade. These draconian measures have been widely condemned by Afghanistani and international scholars as both un-Islamic and a grave violation of human rights. Critics argue that such policies are designed to cripple Afghanistan’s future by depriving its female population of basic education and opportunities.
The Taliban, however, defend their actions by claiming that educating girls undermines societal values and leads to moral corruption. Members of the group have repeatedly articulated their hostility toward female education, further entrenching their oppressive policies against women. This latest announcement underscores the Taliban’s relentless campaign against women’s rights, sparking renewed fears over the fate of girls and women under their rule.
