Taliban Close Five Women’s Literacy Centres in Panjshir

Local sources in Panjshir say the Taliban have shut down more than five women’s literacy centres in the province and dismissed their instructors.

According to the sources, these centres were operating in the provincial capital and several districts, providing education for women who had been unable to attend school. These classes had been active since the previous government and hosted large numbers of female learners.

The sources added that the Taliban have also closed a vocational high school that taught boys and girls in separate shifts.

Taliban local officials have not commented on the matter.

This move comes as the Taliban have carried out similar actions in recent months in Bamyan and Nangarhar, where dozens of women’s literacy centres have been closed and many female teachers dismissed.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, girls above grade six have been banned from attending school, and universities, medical institutes and vocational training courses have also been closed to women.

Women’s rights activists describe these Taliban policies as “gender apartheid”, a systematic effort, they say, aimed at the complete removal of women from education and public life.