Afghan Taliban deputy calls for reopening schools for girls

By RIAZAT BUTT
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A senior member of the Taliban-run government has called on the Taliban to reopen schools for girls in Afghanistan beyond the sixth grade, saying there is no valid reason in Islam for the ban. The appeal from Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban deputy foreign minister, came during a gathering of Afghanistan’s new rulers in Kabul on Tuesday. It was a rare moderate voice amid the harsh measures imposed by the Taliban since they overran the country and seized power in August 2021. Stanikzai says “it is very important that education must be provided to all, without any discrimination.”