Taliban Closes Only Women's Library in Kabul

The Taliban closed the only women's library in the Afghan capital, Kabul, today, Tuesday, six months after its opening. Library officials stated that the closure was due to security reasons and restrictions imposed on women by the Taliban. The founders of the library confirmed in a statement that the Taliban attacked the library at least twice and closed it during its operation of over six months. For her part, Maryam Dabeer, one of the founders of the library, speculated that girls would secretly work to open underground libraries in response to the Taliban's systematic exclusion of them. It is noteworthy that despite the Taliban's pledge after returning to power in August 2021 to show greater flexibility regarding human rights, especially for women, they quickly reverted to their extreme rules and gradually excluded women from public life.