Afghanistan: High schools for girls remain shut in most provinces, UNICEF raises alarm

High schools for girls in most parts of Afghanistan remain shut, as per United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative Salam Al Janabi who added that that the organisation was now waiting to see if girls will be allowed education in the Taliban ruled-land. Earlier this month, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director reckoned that the Taliban were working on a framework that would allow girls to study beyond the sixth grade. However, neither the Taliban nor UNICEF gave a timeline to when schools for girls would be reopened. 

“When it comes to girls’ education, UNICEF is waiting to see if the rhetoric will match the reality on the ground,” the UNICEF  representative said adding that secondary schools for girls were only operative in 5 Afghan provinces, ANI reported citing Sputnik. According to UN data, females make up 38% of school-going children in the country. 

At present, only five Afghan provinces namely Balkh, Jawzjan, Samangan, Kunduz, and Urozgan have allowed girls to acquire secondary education. It is imperative to note that the Taliban's move comes after scores of women took to the streets to protest against the Taliban's ultra-austere education policy. As per Tolo News, the demonstrators asserted that closing schools and colleges for women accounted for a direct violation of their fundamental rights. Additionally, there have been repeated calls for the same by major international organisations and major western powers including the US, the UK amongst others.  

'Cannot lose the progress'

As per the UN official, Afghanistan has developed dramatically in recent years. While there were only 1 million children in the Afghan education system in 2001, only 10% of them were girls. However, the numbers saw a drastic surge after the US took over, Al-Janabi said. “We cannot afford to lose gains made in educating girls and women over the last two decades. We can only protect progress by continuing to ensure that the most disadvantaged girl competes in primary and secondary education.” 

“As I speak to you today, millions of girls of secondary school age are missing out on education for the 27th consecutive day,” Omar Abdi was quoted as saying by AP. “We are urging them not to wait. Any day that we wait -- it’s a day lost for those girls that are out of school.”

(Image: AP)