The Taliban have effectively banned girls from secondary education in Afghanistan, by ordering high schools to reopen only for boys. The edict makes Afghanistan the only country to bar half its population from getting a secondary education, The Guardian reported.

Girls were not mentioned in Friday’s announcement, which means boys will be back at their desks next week after a one-month hiatus, while their sisters will still be stuck at home, the newspaper said in the report. The Taliban Education Ministry said secondary school classes for boys in grades seven to 12 would resume on Saturday, the start of the Afghan week.