Taliban Issues Mandatory Commitments to Kabul Schools to Enforce Ban on Girls’ Education Above Sixth Grade

The Taliban-controlled Ministry of Education in Afghanistan has issued an order requiring educational officials in the capital city of Kabul to sign documents promising not to teach girls above the sixth grade or those aged fourteen and older. This policy, reported by Rukhshana Media and detailed in documents obtained by four education centers in Kabul, also specifies that only female teachers can instruct girls up to sixth grade.

The policy’s rollout began with verbal reminders to high schools and educational centers before the start of the school year on March 23. Despite these warnings, some centers have reportedly continued to secretly educate older girls. The Taliban escalated their enforcement by shutting down several centers in Kabul for allegedly teaching the high school curriculum to girls.

To enforce this policy, the Taliban's Ministry of Education recently distributed letters to all educational centers across Kabul, mandating that officials sign them as a commitment to comply. These letters, which were affixed to personal identification cards, education permits, and copies of the centers’ licenses, explicitly focus on the prohibition of teaching girls above the sixth grade. The letters also included a warning that defiance of these government mandates is deemed a criminal offense, although they did not specify the consequences.

This approach by the Taliban is designed to minimize both national and international pressure by outwardly permitting some level of girls’ education while actually substituting formal education with religious schooling. This continues a pattern seen since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, despite previous promises during the Doha talks to support education for girls and women. The Taliban initially closed girls’ high schools and later universities, claiming these measures would remain until they could ensure a “safe and suitable” learning environment for girls.

“I’m worried about my sisters,” 24-year-old Yalda*, who used to work as an English teacher in Kabul before the Taliban took over, told More to Her Story. “I’m so tired. This is very sad. We are just breathing.”

*Names have been changed.