Girls who graduated from high school expressed criticism over the decision of the Islamic Emirate to suspend the enrolment of female students for the next university entrance examination.

They called on the Islamic Emirate to allow women to continue their education.

“They should allow us to study in our classes to prepare for the university entrance exam, and then to take the examination, then to go the universities and study to build our country,” said Diana, a student.

“The Islamic Emirate does not allow us to take our examination. They don’t even allow us to study in the courses. What will happen to us,” said Tahmina, a student.

“The students have lost their motivation because they suffered for one year and now face an uncertain future,” said Hassibullah Malyar, head of a private education center.

The decision of the Islamic Emirate followed an earlier decision to ban females from attending universities.

This comes as the union of private universities said that the bans have also affected the universities across the country.

“This both damages the economic sector and the nation. It also affects the intellectual and educational sectors that will take a long time to be restored,” said Mohammad Karim Nasiri, press director of the media.

“They give scholarships to our girls and take them outside the country for education—this is a shame for us,” said Azizullah Amir, head of Mura University.

The former US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, reacted to the ban on female students’ enrolment, saying that this decision will increase the suffering of the Afghan people and increase the country's international isolation.

Following back-to-back bans on female activity in Afghanistan, two senior UN officials visited Afghanistan, where they urged the Islamic Emirate to reverse its decisions.