The Taliban ordered secondary girls schools in Afghanistan to shut Wednesday just hours after they reopened, an official confirmed, sparking confusion over the policy reversal by the hardline Islamist group.
The reopening of secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan on Wednesday prompted joy and apprehension among the tens of thousands of students deprived of an education since the Taliban's return to power.
Tens of thousands of girls were due to return to secondary school across Afghanistan Wednesday, more than seven months after the Taliban seized power and imposed harsh restrictions on the rights of women to be educated.