Sierra Leone has lifted an internationally criticised ban that prohibited pregnant schoolgirls from attending school and sitting exams, in a move heralded by activists as a “victory for feminism” in the west African nation.

The decision, announced on Monday, follows a judgment last December by a top regional court that ordered the immediate overturn of the ban, which effectively barred tens of thousands of girls the right to finish their education. The Economic Community of West African States court instructed Sierra Leone to establish nationwide programmes to help pregnant girls return to school.

“Overturning the ban is the first step in building a radically inclusive Sierra Leone where all children – regardless of class, ethnicity, tribe, disability, location, gender, reproductive or parenting status – are able to live and learn in safety and dignity,” the education ministry said in a statement.

Despite the good news, Sierra Leone is expected to close schools this week in a bid to prevent the transmission of coronavirus, which has now spread to 46 countries across Africa and threatens to create huge challenges for under-resourced health services. Sierra Leone is one of only eight virus-free countries in the continent.

Last week, President Julius Maada Bio imposed a year-long state of emergency to deal with the virus.

Chernor Bah, who co-founded the feminist movement-building hub Purposeful, said that although schools are closing, the fact that “the ban is now history” is what matters.

“This is a great victory for the many girls who were unfairly targeted and discriminated against by this senseless ban. It’s a great victory for Sierra Leone and our ambition to achieve education for all. Above all else, this is an extraordinary victory for our feminist movement in Sierra Leone,” he said.

Campaigners point to the hard lessons learned during the Ebola outbreak, which killed more than 11,000 people across west Africa. Thousands of girls were left vulnerable and forced to fend for themselves after schools were closed for months on end, which saw more than 18,000 girls fall pregnant in Sierra Leone alone, according to the UN population fund.

Judy Gitau, Africa regional coordinator at Equality Now, one of the organisations that took Sierra Leone to court over the ban, said governments across Africa must put in place measures to protect adolescent girls when they are in quarantine.

“Sexual predators prey on girls who would ordinarily be safe in schools and, as is the case with conflict or emergency periods, access to medical or legal services are much more difficult to access.

“We must therefore anticipate these occurrences and prevent them.”