[Afghan women protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul. Some Afghan women initially pushed back against the Taliban's curbs, holding small protests where they demanded the right to education and work. (Photo by= AFP/Ahmad SAHEL ARMAN)]

KABUL: About two dozen girls and women chanting "open the schools" protested in the Afghan capital Saturday (Mar 26) against the Taliban's decision to shut their secondary schools just hours after reopening them this week. Thousands of jubilant girls across Afghanistan had flocked to learning institutions on Wednesday - the date the education ministry had set for classes to resume, AFP reported.
 
But just hours into the first day, the ministry announced a shock policy reversal that left youngsters saying they felt betrayed and foreign governments expressing outrage. "Open the schools! Justice, justice!" chanted protesters Saturday, some carrying school books as they gathered at a city square in Kabul. They held banners that said: "Education is our fundamental right, not a political plan" as they marched for a short distance and later dispersed as Taliban fighters arrived at the scene. The protest was the first held by women in weeks after the Taliban rounded up the ringleaders of initial demonstrations held after they returned to power in August.
 
The Islamists haven’t given a clear reason for their decision, which came after a meeting late Tuesday of senior officials in the southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban's de facto power center and spiritual heartland. Since returning to power on Aug 15, the Taliban have rolled back two decades of gains made by the country's women.