Afghanistan Peace CampaignWhile girls above grade six have been banned from attending school for nearly four years, the latest UN Women survey highlights Afghan society’s strong support for education.
The survey, conducted among around 2,000 people across Afghanistan, shows that 92% believe girls’ education is vital and essential.
Details of the findings indicate that even in rural areas, where restrictions are usually stricter, 87% of men and 95% of women supported the right of girls to education. In urban areas, the figure was 95% for both men and women.
Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s representative, said: “Today, UN Women, we are releasing new data, which shows that despite this ban, the vast majority of Afghanistan’s women and men alike support girls’ education. In a nationwide door-to-door survey of more than 2,000 Afghans, nine out of ten said it was important for them, for the girls to continue their schooling beyond primary education. Support was overwhelming across the board, from men and women in both urban and rural communities throughout Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, a number of students once again called for the reopening of schools for girls above grade six.
Nargis, a student, said: “Since childhood, I dreamed of finishing school and studying medicine at university, but after the Islamic Emirate came, I could not continue my studies.”
Another student, Maqboola Mohammadi, said: “Our request from the Islamic Emirate is to reopen schools, because all girls should not be deprived of education just because one girl does not observe hijab.”
Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, told TOLOnews regarding girls’ education that work is still ongoing to provide a precise Sharia-based framework for the issue.