Girls in Afghanistan still face unfair bans on education

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has stated that two years have passed since the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan, and this unjust violation of human rights continues, The Khaama Press reported on Monday.

Guterres said on his social media platform X, “Two years have passed since the ban on

girls attendance in schools in Afghanistan. This is an unjustifiable violation of human rights that inflicts long-term damage on the entire country.”

The Khaama Press reported that the girls in Afghanistan are the primary victims of Taliban policies.

Earlier, The UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennet, called on the Taliban to reverse the “draconian, misogynist policies” against women and allow them to work and run businesses, Tolo News reported.

Speaking to the 54th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, Bennett said 60,000 women have lost their jobs due to recent restrictions of the interim Afghan government.

The education and work of girls and women are the two main issues that sparked reactions at an international level.

Meanwhile, the representatives of some countries who attended the meeting also voiced concerns over the restrictions on Afghan girls and women in access to education and work.

Lubna Qassim, UAE Deputy Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, said the “significant humanitarian challenges facing Afghanistan will have a significant negative impact on the Afghani society and its future.”

Lubna Qassim, added that there is no positive progress on the “ban imposed by the Taliban government on universities, education for girls, and their exclusion from working and civil society organizations national and international humanitarian organizations,” Tolo News reported.

Notably, with the resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 in Afghanistan, the country’s educational system has suffered a significant setback. As a result, girls have been deprived of access to education, and seminaries or religious schools have gradually filled the void left by schools and universities.

Afghanistan's women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces.

It has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement for women and girls.

Taliban leaders have also disregarded international calls for women and girls to be given access to education and employment. Apparently, they have also issued warnings to other nations not to meddle in Afghanistan's domestic affairs.

Taliban have also barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls' freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses.