Taliban close schools for girls above the sixth grade in Eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia Province

It’s the nightmare we all suspected would happen. Taliban officials have shut down schools for girls from the 6th-grade level and higher. The Associated Press reports the closings took place in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province, according to witnesses and social media posts.

“A year after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, teenage girls are still barred from school and women are required to cover themselves from head to toe in public, with only their eyes showing” adds the Associated Press.

“Hard-liners appear to hold sway in the Taliban-led government, which imposed severe restrictions on access to education and jobs for girls and women, despite initial promises to the contrary.”

The closed schools allegedly had only briefly had the opportunity to open after a recommendation by tribal elders and school principals. Earlier this month, “four girls schools above grade 6 in Gardez, the principal capital, and one in the Samkani district began operating without formal permission from the Taliban Education Ministry” writes the Associated Press.

Tragically, all schools were once again forced to close by the Taliban. “Dozens of tearful former students — some in head-to-toe burqas, others in school uniforms and white vails – protested Saturday in the streets of Gardez, according to social media posts.”