Calls from various sectors to reopen schools for girls in grades 7-12 are continuing.

The former deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hekmat Khalil Karzai, expressed criticism over the closure of girls’ schools above grade six for over a year.

“In the 21st century, Afghanistan is the ONLY country in the world where girls above grade six are banned from going to school,” he said. “A full year has gone by where girls have been deprived of their dreams and future. All of us are not only responsible but should be ashamed!”

“One education year is considered a part of a life. We should accept that the ruling power in the country has wasted one year of female students' lives without any Sharia reason, logical or legal,” said Marriam Maroof, a women’s rights activist.

The Chargé d'Affaires of Afghanistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations Naseer Ahmad Faiq said that the country which is dependent on humanitarian aid needs to have educated human power.

“Afghanistan is the only country in the world where the schools are being closed for girls,” he said on Twitter.

“The closure of girls schools has affected the recognition of the Islamic Emirate by the UN,” said Torek Farhadi, a university instructor.

The UN special rapporteur for Afghan Human Rights, Richard Bennett, in an interview with TOLOnews said that the Islamic Emirate must ensure women’s rights and girls’ access to education.

There is a “need to make progress on all human rights but particularly starting with women’s rights" and "there is enormous international concern supporting Afghan women for the opening of the schools,” he said.

This comes as the Ministry of Education recently said that the schools for female students in grades 7-12 have been closed for cultural reasons and that the people don’t want their daughters to go to schools in the current situation.