Any hopes that the Taliban in Afghanistan had softened in their hardline attitudes were quickly dispelled when, on 23 March, 2022, they announced that girls would not be permitted to attend school. The sudden u-turn by the Islamist group was a devastating blow to the thousands of young girls who had hoped they would be given their fundamental right to attend school and secure a vital education. Today, almost 80 percent of girls in Afghanistan are out of education. Following the ban, the Taliban gave no real justification, only saying that the education of girls must be according to “Islamic pr…