Dozens of female students and women took to the streets of Kabul to protest the recent decision of the Islamic Emirate to ban girls above grade sixth from attending school.  

The protestors called for the reopening of schools for girls in grades 7-12 across Afghanistan.  

“We gathered today to voice this shared pain and to not allow a generation to be deprived of education,” said Monisa, a female rights activist who participated in the protest.  

The protestors were chanting the slogan “education is our absolute right."   

“I was going to study in grade 11, but unfortunately, when the Taliban came to power, our schools were closed. As the boys have the right to education, we girls also have the right,” said Fatima, a student.  

This comes as Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Ireland also staged a protest in reaction to the closing of secondary and high schools for girls in Afghanistan.  

“When a woman is educated, she will help a family, a society and a country be improved,” said a woman protestor in Ireland. 

“We call on all movements to stand beside the girls and women of Afghanistan,” said a protestor in Ireland.  

On Wednesday, the start of the school year, female students above grade six were not allowed to participate in their classes and were told to stay home until the Islamic Emirate announces its next decision.  

The Ministry of Education said that it has sent a plan about the fate of the female students to the Prime Minister’s Office.