Afghanistan's school year starts with calls for all girls to be allowed back

FILE PHOTO: Afghan women learn how to read the Koran in a madrasa or religious school in Kabul, Afghanistan, October 8, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's school year started on Tuesday, the education ministry said, as the U.N. children's agency renewed calls for teenage girls to be able to rejoin the classroom.

A year ago, after signalling that they would open schools for all students, Taliban authorities made a U-Turn, leaving many girls who had turned up to their high school classes in tears and sparking global condemnation that has hampered the Taliban's efforts to gain formal international recognition.