A number of female students and their families on Saturday called on the Islamic Emirate to reopen secondary schools for girls as they remain closed for the past 544 days.

The students said they are faced with "psychological problems" due to being deprived of schooling for over a year.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen our schools so that we can get educated,” said Fariba, a student.

“We want to continue our education. My family and I are sad about the closure of our schools,” said Khadija, a student.

Families of the students said they are concerned about the future of their children. They also called on Islamic Emirate to reopen schools for their daughters.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools and universities for our children,” said Samiullah, father of a student.

Local officials in Maidan Wardak province said that they are waiting for a decision from the leadership to reopen secondary schools for girls in the province.

“We have secondary schools for girls in some villages but we are waiting for the order of the leadership to reopen them,” said Gul Wali Mutaqi, head of the education department in Maidan Wardak.

This comes as the new school year will begin this week, but no announcement has been made on the reopening of secondary schools for girls in the country.