The US special envoy for Afghanistan’s human rights and women, Rina Amiri, said there is no reason that girls are not in school and “what continues to keep sanctions in place are the Taliban’s policies against the Afghan population.”

Talking to BBC’s Yalda Hakim, Amiri said that the “Taliban rendered Afghan women invisible.”

“It is the most repressive regime in the world. It is a situation which Afghan women are describing as gender apartheid. It is the worst situation in the world,” she said. “There is no Muslim majority country in the world that supports” the actions of the Islamic Emirate, she added.

Afghan female activists believe that the Islamic Emirate will not be recognized if it does not provide women with their rights.

“If the Taliban maintains the treatment of women like this—not providing the right to education for girls and the right to work for women, I am sure they will never be recognized by the international community,” said Darya Nishat, a women’s rights activist.

“The sanctions will continue on the Taliban no matter what, but the Afghans are mostly suffering from its economic effects,” said Torek Farhadi, a political analyst.

It has been over 10 months that the schools have been closed for female students in grades 7-12.

According to some sources, there are certain officials within the Islamic Emirate who support the reopening of girls’ schools above grade six, but the leadership of the Islamic Emirate has yet to provide any comment on this.