Many baffled by Taliban reneging pledge on girls’ education

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Aid groups, media workers and others in Afghanistan are baffled by the Taliban reneging on their pledge to allow girls to go to school beyond sixth grade. The unexpected decision on Wednesday apparently meant to appease the Taliban’s hard-line base but it comes at the expense of further alienating the international community. In many placed across Afghanistan, some girls in higher grades returned to schools, only to be told to go home. The Taliban leadership has so far refused to explain the move — even as Afghans took to social media to condemn their last-minute ban.