Taliban break promise on higher education for Afghan girls

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers won’t reopen schools to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the world. The surprise decision is bound to disrupt Taliban efforts to win recognition from potential donors abroad at a time when Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is worsening. U.S. Special Representative Thomas West tweeted his “shock and deep disappointment” about the decision, calling it “a betrayal of public commitments to the Afghan people and the international community.” West said the Taliban had made it clear that all Afghans have a right to education and urged them “to live up to their commitments to their people.”