ISLAMIC RULE: Afghan Girls Banned From School

The banishment of teenage Afghan girls from school is a great human-rights atrocity – millions of girls erased from classrooms, futures deliberately destroyed by Islamist tyranny. And yet this horror is met with near total silence from the very institutions that claim to exist to defend women and human rights. The UN, major women’s groups, elite human-rights NGOs, and activist college campuses suddenly lose their voices when the oppressor is Islamist and the victims are inconvenient. Their protests, outrage, and moral urgency appear only when Israel or Jews can be blamed. This grotesque double standard exposes the truth: these movements are not driven by compassion, equality, or justice, but by ideology—and at its core, an obsessive hostility toward Jews that has become their defining mission and organizing principle.

BREAKING: Afghans education minister has announced that women are permanently banned from schools.

UN Women has not said a word. pic.twitter.com/1BJ8ijP0rs

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) January 26, 2026

Teenage Afghan girls were banned from school – now these classes are their only option

BY: BBC, 24 March 2025

The new school year began on Saturday in Afghanistan but for the fourth consecutive year, girls over 12 were barred from attending classes.

“All my dreams were shattered,” she says, her voice fragile and filled with emotion.

Amina, now 15, has always wanted to become a doctor. As a little girl, she suffered from a heart defect and underwent surgery. The surgeon who saved her life was a woman – an image that stayed with her and inspired her to take her studies seriously.

But in 2021, when the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan, Amina’s dream was abruptly put on hold.

“When my dad told me the schools were closed, I was really sad. It was a very bad feeling,” she says quietly. “I wanted to get an education so that I could become a doctor.”

The restrictions on education for teenage girls, imposed by the Taliban, has affected more than one million girls, according to Unicef, the UN’s children’s agency.

Now, madrassas – religious centres focused on Islamic teachings – have become the only way for many women and teenage girls to access education. However, those whose families can afford private tuition may still have access to subjects including maths, science and languages.

While the madrassas are seen by some as a way to offer young women access to some of the education they would have had in mainstream schools, others say they are no substitute and there are concerns of brainwashing.

A close up picture of Amina, who has her face covered
Amina dreamt of becoming a doctor
I meet Amina in the dimly-lit basement of Al-Hadith madrassa in Kabul, a newly established private religious educational centre for around 280 female students of various ages.

The basement is cold, with cardboard walls and a sharp chill in the air. After chatting for about 10 minutes, our toes are already going numb.

Al-Hadith madrassa was founded a year ago by Amina’s brother, Hamid, who felt compelled to act after seeing the toll that the education ban had taken on her.

“When girls were denied education, my sister’s dream of becoming a heart surgeon was crushed, significantly affecting her wellbeing”, says Hamid, who is in his early thirties.

“Having the chance to go back to school, as well as learning midwifery and first aid, made her feel much better about her future,” he adds.