According to media sources, Afghanistan's Taliban-led government has stated that high schools for girls, which have been closed since the country's takeover in August 2021, will reopen in March.

According to Khaama Press, the new academic year in Afghanistan begins in March, which also happens to be the first month of the new solar year.

The Taliban are devoted and optimistic about reopening schools for females, said Aziz Ahmad Reyan, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education, in a statement on January 23, 2022.

He added that the Taliban are working on it "seriously and hard."

Reyan asserted that the Taliban was trying to establish a secure system for girls by prohibiting girls from attending high school classes.

"We have paid the wages of female teachers since the Taliban has no objection to girls' education. For girls, we will hire more female teachers, "the spokesman was reported by Khaama Press as stating.

The official went on to say that they were focusing on strengthening the capability of female teachers and that they wanted to expand the number of female teachers so that only females were taught.

Only elderly male teachers will be allowed to educate female students if female teachers are not available in some locations, he added.

Since the Taliban took power on August 15, last year, girls have only been allowed to attend classes up to grade six, which prompted widespread condemnation both at home and abroad.

The spokesman's comments came after US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West told BBC Pashto over the weekend that if the Taliban allows girls' schools to reopen, Washington and the international community intend to pay their salaries, according to TOLO News.