The Taliban ordered girls' secondary schools in Afghanistan to shut on Wednesday just hours after they reopened, sparking heartbreak and confusion over the policy reversal by the hardline Islamist group.
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Photos: Scenes from a desperate Afghanistan as Taliban face economic ruin
Two brothers carrying canisters with a wheelbarrow react on their way to collect water from a stagnant pool, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from their home in Kamar Kalagh village outside Herat, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. Drought in Afghanistan, the worst in decades, is now entering its second year, exacerbated by climate change. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Saliha holds her 4-month-old baby Najeeb as he undergoes treatment at the malnutrition ward of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A child looks out a window of his home in a neighborhood where many internally displaced people have been living for years, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
An Afghan green grocery store owner stands outside his shop as a girl buys bread from a bakery, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. (AP Photo/ Petros Giannakouris)
Afghan girls participate in a lesson at Tajrobawai Girls High School, in Herat, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A man disributes bread to Afghan women outside a bakery in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, Dec, 2, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A Taliban fighter stands at a check point in Herat, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Afghan men sit in a bus at a bus station in Herat, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, for a 300-mile trip south to Nimrooz near the Iranian border. Afghans are streaming across the border into Iran, driven by desperation after the near collapse of their country's economy following the Taliban's takeover in mid-August. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A family warms up next to a makeshift fire outside the Directorate of Disaster office where they are camped, in Herat, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. About 2,000 internally displaced people left Allahyar village in Ghor province because of a drought and are seeking help from the regional government in Herat. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Women queue to receive cash at a money distribution site organized by the World Food Program in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. Thousands of Afghan families are registering for WFP aid because they cannot afford food during the country's economic collapse. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Taliban fighters and Afghan men pray in Kamar Kalagh village near Herat, Afghanistan, Saturday , Nov. 27, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
An Afghan woman exits a convenience shop in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. (AP Photo/ Petros Giannakouris)
An Afghan man collects scraps of aluminum and plastic, in Herat, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A boy carries bread in Herat, Afghanistan, Thursday , Nov. 25, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A young girl stands outside her home as two dogs lie on the ground in Kamar Kalagh village near Herat, Afghanistan, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Brothers fill canisters with water from a pool of stagnant water about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from their home in Kamar Kalagh village outside Herat, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A girl walks with the help of her father in Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
A drug addict collects scraps of aluminum and plastic in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/ Petros Giannakouris)
Mohammad Ayoub, 65, the only male left after all the younger men tried their luck in leaving for Iran, stands in front of Jar-e Sawz, the village where he lives on the outskirts of Herat, Afghanistan, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Since the chaotic Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals. The World Health Organization is warning of millions of children suffering malnutrition, and the U.N. says 97% of Afghans will soon be living below the poverty line. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
An Afghan woman is wrapped in a blanket as she and her family camp outside the Directorate of Disaster in Herat, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. About 2,000 internally displaced people left Allahyar village of Ghor province because of the drought that worsened their economic situation and are asking for help from the regional government in Herat. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The bitter cold of Afghanistan's winter has small children huddled beneath blankets in makeshift camps. Sick babies in hospitals lie wrapped in their mothers' all-enveloping burqas. Long lines at food distribution centers have become overwhelming as Afghanistan sinks deeper into desperate times.
Since the chaotic Aug. 15 Taliban takeover of Kabul, an already war-devastated economy once kept alive by international donations alone is now on the verge of collapse. There isn't enough money for hospitals.
