Afghanistan school year starts without millions of teenage girls

Taliban officials have justified the school ban and curbs on women's freedom due to the lack of a ‘safe environment’ [File: Stringer/Reuters]

Afghanistan’s schools have reopened for the new academic year, but hundreds of thousands of teenage girls remain barred from attending classes as Taliban authorities ban their attendance in secondary school.

Education Minister Habibullah Agha confirmed in a statement that schools up to grade six “will currently be open for girls”, effectively retaining a ban on high school for female students.