The foreign ministers of 16 countries said today they were "deeply disappointed" by the Taliban's decision not to allow girls to attend primary school and called on them to reverse their decision.

"As women and foreign ministers, we are deeply disappointed and concerned that girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to high schools this spring," said ministers from Albania, Andorra, Australia, Belgium, BiH, Canada, Estonia and Germany. Iceland, Kosovo, Malawi, Mongolia, New Zealand, Sweden, Tonga and the United Kingdom in a joint written statement.

The new Afghan authorities unexpectedly ordered the closure of girls' schools in Afghanistan, just hours after they reopened. The media reported that the girls who arrived in the older grades of primary and secondary schools were told to return home.

"Mum, they did not let me enter my school. They're saying girls aren't allowed" Hopes and dreams shattered once again for millions of Afghan girls left in tears and devastated by the continued Taliban ban pic.twitter.com/ysNj79zfjE

- Yalda Hakim (@BBCYaldaHakim) March 23, 2022

The Taliban did not elaborate on the sudden decision.

The ministers said in a joint statement that the decision was "particularly disturbing" as the Taliban repeatedly promised to open schools for all after taking power in the country last August.

"We call on the Taliban to reverse their decision and guarantee equal access to all levels of education, in all provinces of the country," they said. They pointed out that in the next period "they will measure their actions, not their words".