1,000 Days Pass Since Ban on Afghan Girls’ Schooling
A thousand days of girls being deprived of education in secondary and high schools have sparked global reactions.
The United Nations, the United States, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and some other countries and organizations have called on the interim government to reopen schools for female students above the sixth grade.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General, citing the UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, emphasized the need to reopen schools for girls, stating that this issue has serious consequences for Afghanistan’s economy and development trajectory.
The deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General said: “The UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell knows that today marks a sad and sobering milestone: 1,000 days since the announcement banning girls in Afghanistan from attending secondary schools. She pointed out that for 1.5 million girls, this systematic exclusion is not only a blatant violation of their right to education, but also results in dwindling opportunities and deteriorating mental health.”
Daniel Timme, Chief, Communication & Advocacy at UNICEF Afghanistan, said that we are increasingly witnessing psychological problems among these girls. This situation clearly shows that there is a connection between not attending school and child marriage.
The British Embassy, the former prime minister of Afghanistan, Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghan human rights and women, and Women of Afghanistan, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, and Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, have stated that the presence of educated and capable women is crucial and necessary for achieving peace, stability, and sustainable development in Afghanistan.
Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghan human rights and women, and Women of Afghanistan, said: “Today marks 1,000 days since the Taliban banned girls from secondary schools in Afghanistan — 1,000 days of young dreams crushed, the future of the country squandered, and Afghanistan remaining isolated as the only country on the globe where such extreme policies are in place.”
Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and Nobel Peace Prize winner, said: “It’s been 1000 days since the Taliban banned girls’ secondary education. Afghan women and girls are living under gender apartheid — but they are fighting back. That’s why Malala Fund is supporting orgs working to keep girls learning in Afghanistan with $1.5M in new funding.”
While the Islamic Emirate has not said anything new about this matter, it had previously denied any violations of human rights, especially women’s and girls’ rights in the country, and added that they are trying to find a solution for the return of girls to schools.
