Personal Account Describes Closure of Girls' Learning Center in Afghanistan

A first-person account published by Hasht-e Subh details an incident at a Pritafal learning center where female students were discussing a scientific topic during their third month of classes. The narrator describes how, on a Tuesday afternoon, commotion outside went unnoticed until the teacher was called out, leading to a heavy silence among the students.

The students understood this mirrored the school closures three years prior. The teacher initially reassured them that 'these people come and go every time,' but her trembling voice indicated otherwise. Previous winter incidents had led to temporary closures of at least two months, after which centers reopened. However, sounds from outside and fear in the teacher's eyes suggested this instance differed.

The teacher later instructed the girls to leave quickly. Outside, many girls gathered at the door, reminiscent of a prior summer protest that prevented closure, though fewer resisted this time amid fear. The narrator waited for family, overhearing teachers express distress over lost teaching income, describing it as a 'horrible disaster' affecting both students and instructors.

The family arrived amid locked front doors, forcing exit through a back route: a long corridor, stairs, ruins, and another corridor, likened to a 'tunnel of horror.' The narrator's father waited outside; it was the last time she left the center. Passing the street now evokes thoughts of despairing girls who sought to learn a new language for progress but faced repeated hope denial, condemned to silence.

The account questions if 'this disaster' will ever end, protesting the closures.