Afghans both in the country and abroad have rolled out a social media campaign in the past few days to have girls’ schools reopened in Afghanistan.

The campaign, called “Reopen Girls’ Schools” has taken social media platforms by storm.

Schools for girls above Grade 6 have been closed for about 11 months – despite widespread calls for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to reopen the doors to education for teenage girls.

Some women’s rights activists who have spoken out about the issue have said illiteracy is worse than war and that the right to education is a fundamental human right.

“Civil protests are not very effective, but they have a good result because they make the public and the world aware of this country’s problem, so we continue our protests through social networks,” said Munisa Mubariz, a women’s right activist.

The IEA said no final decision has been made.

“The same announcement of the Ministry of Education applies to the reopening of schools and this big decision goes back to the elders of the Islamic Emirate and we will take action whenever the final decision is made,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of the IEA.