Afghanistan Peace CampaignHeather Barr is urging the international community to take practical steps to address the educational crisis facing Afghan girls.
Human Rights Watch said that the ban on education for girls beyond the sixth grade and their access to higher education has created widespread challenges for Afghan women and girls over the past four years.
The deputy director of the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch is urging the international community to take practical steps to address the educational crisis facing Afghan girls.
Heather Barr said: “The ban of education beyond sixth grade, the ban of medical education, the ban of higher education, the moments that pass when there are graduation days, Kankor exams, which women and girls are not able to participate in. And the important thing to say about this is that while obviously this is causing devastating harm to every girl who’s affected by this and every young woman and their families, it’s also causing devastating and permanent harm to the entire country.”
Tafsir Siyahpush, a women’s rights activist, said: “If this continues for more than three or nearly four years, we may have no teachers, no doctors. There will be thousands of other things we might lack. Women will remain excluded. And be assured: if women are not in leadership, half of society is missing. Our future, not just for women but for Afghanistan as a whole, will not be better.”
A number of university students in the country also say that due to the education ban, they are living in uncertainty and that serious attention is needed.
Marwa, a student, said: “I was studying administration and business, but after the second semester, the university was closed. My grades were high, and I was passionate about the field. I dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and starting my own company.”
Sabria, another student, said: “My request is that the parties come together, negotiate, and reach an agreement so that the doors of schools and universities are reopened to Afghan girls.”
According to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, a total of 2.2 million girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of education due to these restrictions, 400,000 of whom have been affected just in the current year.
UNICEF has warned that if the ban continues until 2030, over 4 million girls will be deprived of their right to education.