Taliban Close Library Doors to Girls

Image :EFE/EPA/Samiullah Popal

Girls: “In the past, the Taliban called America their enemy, but now they see women and girls as their enemies.”

More than four years after the Taliban’s return to power, girls in Afghanistan have not only been deprived of the right to education but are now also banned from entering libraries; places that until recently were their only refuge of peace and hope.

Girls told Zan News that the Taliban have closed the doors of public libraries to them, reserving these spaces exclusively for men. They emphasised that this new decision by the Taliban has severed their last remaining connection to knowledge and learning.

Salima, a resident of Ghor province, said in a choked voice: “In the past, the Taliban used to say that America was their enemy, but now they see women and girls as their enemies. If not, why have they imprisoned us? We used to go to the library with men and read books together, but now we cannot even pass through the library gate.”

Fahima Yousufi, a young woman from Kabul, spoke about the psychological pressure caused by this ban: “We cannot even read books anymore. The Taliban have taken away the libraries from us too. There is no way left to calm our minds and hearts. We are on the verge of losing our sanity.”

In the northern provinces, the situation is no different. Maryama, a resident of Balkh province, said with distress: “The Taliban allow only men to study in public libraries. They have deprived us of the most basic human right, the right to read and to know.”

At a time when Afghan girls are already deprived of education, employment, and social participation, closing library doors to them marks the Taliban’s latest assault on knowledge and enlightenment.

Analysts say that with such decisions, the Taliban not only violate women’s rights but also push the cultural and intellectual future of an entire generation into darkness.

Aqela Kamali, a girl from Kabul, said at the end of interview, her eyes filled with tears: “If reading books is a crime, then we are all criminals, because the dream of learning is still alive in our hearts.”