RASC News Agency: The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently announced in a report that girls in Afghanistan and some African countries have regressed in the education sector. According to Tolo News on Tuesday, Mar 12, the report stated that Afghanistan is among the top ten countries with the highest number of girls deprived of schooling.
As per UNESCO’s report, 75% of girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule are deprived of education, indicating a high rate of girls denied access to schools. UNESCO wrote in its report: “Among the top ten countries, nine, including Africa and Afghanistan, have the highest rates of girls’ lack of access to schools. At least 50% of girls cannot attend school, and in Afghanistan, 75% of girls lack the opportunity to attend schools.”
This report comes as, following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, the group has prohibited girls beyond the sixth grade from attending schools and universities and has also restricted access to other educational institutions in some provinces. Earlier, Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US State Department, on the eve of the start of the new school year in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, expressed that the beginning of the academic year is a sad reminder for Afghanistani schoolgirls.
The American official stated regarding the return of Afghanistani girls to schools: “We really don’t know. A sad anniversary is approaching, and we have stated unequivocally that girls should not be deprived of going to school in the first place.”
It is worth noting that despite repeated domestic and international calls on the Taliban to lift this deprivation, no action has been taken by the group in this regard, more than two years after its rule and the deprivation of girls’ education.
