The Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said authorities are hoping to be able to reopen all girls’ schools across the country in the new solar year which starts on March 21, and are working toward this.

Talking to the Associated Press on Saturday, Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate is not against education, but boys and girls must be completely segregated in schools. 

Since the Islamic Emirate’s takeover in mid-August, girls in most parts of Afghanistan have not been allowed back to school beyond grade 7. The closing of girls’ schools has been met with sharp reactions inside the country as well as from the international community. 

According to Mujahid, finding or building enough classrooms for both boys and girls has been one of the main obstacles in the way of reopening girls’ schools. “We are trying to solve these problems by the coming year,” he said. 

Meanwhile, a number of female students who remain out of school said the Islamic Emirate should keep its promise and reopen the schools in the new year.

“We have heard a lot of promises but these promises must become practical. We were deprived of going to school due to Covid-19 and then because of recent changes in the country,” said Bahara, a student. 

“We are calling for the immediate reopening of schools, and the government should pave the ground for this,” said Azada, a student. 

A number of female teachers said they have not received their salaries for five months and they urged the Islamic Emirate to address their challenges. 

“We have not been called to schools for the past five months. Even those teachers at boys' schools face an uncertain fate,” said Suhaila Omar Zada, a teacher.

Schools in Afghanistan were not only disrupted by political change, but also because of the spread of COVID-19.