Students protest in Kabul as Taliban bar girls from attending schools

Kabul [Afghanistan], March 25 (ANI): Dozens of students have rallied in Kabul on Friday to protest the Taliban's decision to block girls' schools.
A number of protestors chanted slogans against the Taliban. One of the slogans said, "No religion has blocked education and the ban on educating girls is blatant gender discrimination."
As the new school year begins in Afghanistan, the Taliban has announced that the boys can continue their education normally. However, the doors of the schools have been closed to girls beyond the sixth grade.
The intentional community has condemned this ban saying, this move will have an inevitable impact on the Taliban's prospects of gaining political support and legitimacy either at home or abroad.
Condemning the Taliban's decision not to reopen secondary schools to Afghan girls, the United States and its allies have called on the group to revoke its decision.
A joint statement issued by Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union has condemned the Taliban's decision on March 23 to deny so many Afghan girls the opportunity to finally go back to school.
"The Taliban's action contradicted its public assurances to the Afghan people and to the international community," read the statement, adding that the decision came after months of work by the international community to support teacher stipends based on an expectation that schools would be open for all, with the higher interest of Afghan students and teachers in mind.
They called on the Taliban urgently to reverse this decision which will have consequences far beyond its harm to Afghan girls.
"Unreversed, it will profoundly harm Afghanistan's prospects for social cohesion and economic growth, its ambition to become a respected member in the community of nations, and the willingness of Afghans to return from overseas," the statement added. (ANI)