Washington Post: Closing Schools for Afghan Girls Has Caused Mental Health Issues

According to a report by the American newspaper Washington Post, the closure of middle schools, high schools, and universities to Afghan girls by the Taliban government has led many girls to suffer from mental health issues. This report, based on interviews with Afghan doctors and psychologists inside Afghanistan, adds that the increasing restrictions on Afghan women and girls have resulted in a rise in the number of female patients visiting psychological clinics. One Afghan psychologist quoted in the report stated that the restrictions imposed by the Taliban have left women and girls hopeless about their future, leading to isolation and depression for some of them. Another psychologist told the Washington Post that the increasing restrictions on women by the Taliban have also affected women who were not directly impacted by these restrictions, causing them to experience mental health problems. Meanwhile, Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, recently stated in a message that the lives of Afghan women have improved since the group came to power. Additionally, the Taliban government has ordered the closure of women’s beauty salons in Afghanistan, and the UN Security Council condemned the Taliban's restrictions against women. The Taliban's repeated response to the international community is that the prohibition on women's work is an 'internal social issue.' The UN welcomed the release of two Afghan civil activists, and Mowlana Abdolhamid urged the Taliban leader to open all educational centers to women.