RASC News Agency: As the three-year mark passes since girls were banned from schools and universities in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch has criticized the global community for failing to take meaningful and decisive steps to pressure the Taliban into lifting these restrictions. The organization called for heightened international efforts to end the Taliban’s oppressive ban on girls’ education.
On September 17, 2021, over a month after the Taliban seized power, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education announced the reopening of schools, but only for male students and teachers. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described the exclusion of girls above the sixth grade as “temporary,” stating that schools would reopen for them once “appropriate conditions” were met. However, nearly 1,096 days have passed, and girls above the sixth grade have still not returned to school, while universities remain closed to them as well.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 17, Human Rights Watch noted that, much like during the Taliban’s first reign, when they deprived girls of education for five years, the current regime is once again robbing girls of their “precious time” during their most formative years of learning, growth, and academic development.
The statement further elaborated: “Girls who were denied education during the Taliban’s first regime often never fully recovered, and those who are now being deprived face lifelong and intergenerational repercussions.” Despite the global outcry over the ban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade, the organization emphasized that more significant and tangible measures by governments and international institutions are required to reverse this ban.
Human Rights Watch urged donor nations to “support communities that are advocating for girls’ right to education and to fund online and underground education initiatives led by women.” The Taliban, adhering to deeply entrenched tribal customs, have refused to reopen schools and universities for girls, yet they disguise these practices under the guise of “implementing Sharia law.”
