According to eyewitnesses, the Taliban have converted the Afghan Ministry of Women into the headquarters of the religious police.
On Friday, workers posted a sign on the building in Kabul that read, "Ministry of Prayer, Guidance, and Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," as shown in photos.
During the first period of rule of the radical Islamists from 1996 to 2001, the religious police operated under a similar name and enforced the Sharia with public executions, among other things. Women’s Ministry of Women said they had been sent home weeks ago. The gate of the ministry building was finally locked on Thursday.
The Taliban initially did not respond to a request for comment. The Islamists had previously stated that women were not allowed to work with men in ministries. The women's ministry was also missing from the new cabinet list, but the Taliban had not yet confirmed the abolition of the government agency. Since taking power in mid-August, they have publicly tried to be more moderate. For example, they assured that girls could go to school as long as there were all-girls classes.
On Friday, the Ministry of Education announced that the country's schools should reopen for boys on Saturday. It remained open whether and when girls would be admitted again. Girls' secondary schools were last closed. For younger girls there were still a few lessons in schools that were able to keep going. During the first Taliban rule, women were denied access to education and work, and girls were not allowed to go to school.