International community should persuade Taliban restore girls' education: British MP

Kabul [Afghanistan], March 16 : Some of the members of the British parliament asked the international community to discuss the reopening of girls' schools in Afghanistan with the Taliban, TOLOnews reported.
On the eve of the start of the new academic year, some members of the British parliament asked the international community to persuade and argue with the Taliban regarding girls' education.
"There are parts of the country where education is taking place both for the primary and secondary levels for girls, and it is the job of the international community to try and persuade and argue with the Taliban administration, that what is happening in those particular areas should be extended across the whole country," TOLOnews quoted Andrew Mitchell, UK Member of Parliament as saying.
The closure of girls' schools in Afghanistan has drawn criticism from some members of the British Parliament, who claim that so far, about 850,000 girls have been prevented from attending school.
"Since the fall of Kabul, some 850,000 girls have been prevented from attending school by the Taliban. Recently, people at St Matthew... primary school at Stratford undertook a whole school march in solidarity with the plight of Afghan girls denied an education. They have done all they can to raise awareness of this important issue, what more does the minister believe that his government can do to raise awareness of this ongoing travesty, and crucially, will he agree to bring forward a comprehensive Afghanistan strategy that takes into account the ongoing crackdown on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan?" British MP Andrew Western said, according to TOLOnews.
Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Qatar's Foreign ministry have stressed the need of supporting women's rights in Afghanistan, particularly in the field of education.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Guterres urged the world to support Afghan women, stating that it is a struggle on "many fronts" in Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported.
Guterres, while addressing the UN Committee on the Status of Women on Monday, said they have been "supporting schools wherever it is possible, schools with girls in the secondary level."
"The donor community has said there will only be aid where women are involved. Where women are not involved, the aid will not be present. So, the pressure goes on to guarantee that we have women working in the humanitarian sector. In the public services, few women are working, and we are fighting hard to increase it," he said, according to Afghanistan-based Khaama Press.
The UN Commission on the Status of Women started on Monday to assess the situation of women around the world and will continue till March 17. The situation of women, particularly in Afghanistan, will be discussed by representatives worldwide, reported Khaama Press.
It has been more than 530 days since the schools for female students have remained closed. The Islamic Emirate also in a recent decree banned female students from going to universities, TOLOnews reported.