Afghanistan Peace Campaign“Without educated girls and women, Afghanistan is facing a dark future,” HRW said.
Human Rights Watch said on Twitter that Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans girls from going to secondary school.
“Without educated girls and women, Afghanistan is facing a dark future,” HRW said.
This comes as Sheikh Abdul Sami Ghaznawi, an instructor from Central Jihadi Madrassa in Kabul, said in a video that there is no conflict regarding girls’ education. He says that “Hadiths” have indicated that “modern knowledge is obligatory” and if anyone wants to deny it, they should first refer to “the Quran and Hadith.”
“We will solve the issue (education). We will sit with the scholars and they will make a decision. I am surprised about this dispute,” he said.
The UN Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also said that access to education is a human right and that quality education is considered an international priority.
“The barring of girls and women from education is not only damaging the females in Afghan society but will also severely harm the social fundamentals of Afghanistan gradually, which will be difficult to recover from,” said Marriam Arveen, a human rights defender.
“It has been three years that we have not gone to school. A one-year stop was due to Covid-19 and the rest of the time– two years–was due to the Islamic Emirate’s takeover. We hope that as the schools are reopened for boys, the Islamic Emirate will reopen it for girls as well,” said Nargis, a student.
This comes as residents of Kabul called on the interim government to provide educational opportunities for women and to reopen secondary schools for girls.
“If we want to have a brilliant future and a developed country, then it is essential that the schools for our sisters be reopened,” said Ameen, a resident of Kabul.
“Without universities and educational institutions, good governance and enduring stability will be difficult,” said Mohammad Sarwar, a resident of Kabul.
It has been nearly 560 days since female students above grade six have been banned from schools, and their fate has yet to be clarified.