Rights activist asks Taliban to reopen girls' schools
Apr 13, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], April 13 : Women's rights activist Zarifa Ghafari called on the Taliban to reopen all girls' schools and asked the world leaders to pay attention to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and "not differentiate between Afghans and Ukrainians".
Ghafari in an open letter to various international organizations pressed with the demand for the reopening of Afghan girls' schools and asked world leaders to pay attention to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and "not differentiate between Afghans and Ukrainians", TOLOnews reported.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) has also expressed concern over the closure of secondary schools for Afghan girls and their safety.
The envoys and representatives of the European Union, US, and the European countries in a joint statement have also said that the international aid to Kabul will depend on Afghanistan's ability to ensure access to education for girls at all levels, said a media report.
In the joint statement, the envoys and the representatives have said that the type and scope of "international donor assistance will depend, among other things, on the right and ability of girls to attend equal education at all levels," reported TOLOnews.
The joint statement further stressed that the progress towards normalized relations between the Taliban and the international community will depend mostly on Kabul's actions and delivery on commitments and obligations to the Afghan people and to the international community.
Moreover, during a briefing of the Diplomatic Corps on April 6, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Mette Knudsen, highlighted that the Taliban's decision to ban girls from attending secondary schools has negatively impacted the attitude of the global community towards them.
The Taliban have issued a decree banning female students above grade six from attending their classes in schools. The girls were further told to stay home until the Islamic Emirate announces its next decision.
The decision by the Islamic Emirate has drawn severe backlash across the world with the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union issuing a joint statement to condemn the Taliban's decision to deny so many Afghan girls the opportunity to finally go back to schools.
