Concerned About The Closure Of Secondary Schools For Women, Foreign Minister Retno Expects The Taliban To Review Its Decision

Illustration of an Afghan female student. (Wikimedia Commons/USAID)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is concerned about the reopening of access to secondary schools for Afghan women, expecting the incumbent Taliban to review its decision.

The Taliban on Wednesday retracted their announcement that secondary schools would open for girls, saying they would remain closed until a provision was drawn up under Islamic law for them to reopen.

Teachers and students from three secondary schools around the capital Kabul said the girls had returned to campus happily on Wednesday morning, but were ordered to go home. They said many students left crying.

"We all got really desperate when the principal told us he was crying too," said one student, who was not named for security reasons.

The reversal took many by surprise, drawing criticism and concern from humanitarian agencies, rights groups and diplomats, at a time when the Taliban government is seeking international recognition.

"I am very concerned about the Taliban's decision to close access to secondary schools for girls in Afghanistan. Education for all, including women and girls, is very important for the future of Afghanistan," Foreign Minister Retno wrote on her Twitter account.

"Indonesia will continue to encourage women's empowerment, especially access to education for women and girls in Afghanistan. Indonesia hopes that the Taliban can review this decision," continued Foreign Minister Retno.

I am very concerned with the decision of the Taliban to close access to highschool for girls in Afghanistan.

— Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia (@Menlu_RI) March 24, 2022

The international community has made the education of girls a key demand for recognition of the future government of the Taliban, which took over the country in August when foreign troops withdrew.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Taliban's decision was a "deep disappointment and deeply damaging to Afghanistan."

"The denial of education not only violates the equal right of women and girls to education," Guterres said in a statement.

"I urge the de facto Taliban authorities to open schools to all students without further delay," he stressed.

Earlier, Afghanistan's Ministry of Education had announced last week that schools for all students, including girls, would open across the country on Wednesday, after months of restrictions on education for girls of secondary school age.

On Tuesday evening, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education released a video congratulating all students on their return to class.

However, on Wednesday, an Education Ministry notice said schools for girls would be closed until provisions were drawn up in accordance with Afghan Islamic and cultural law, according to Bakhtar News, a state news agency.

Separately, Suhail Shaheen, a senior member of the Doha-based Taliban, said the delay in opening girls' schools was due to technical issues, with the Education Ministry working on standard uniforms for students across the country.

"We hope that this uniform problem can be resolved and resolved as soon as possible," he said.