UN: 1000 Days since Afghan Girls Banned from Secondary Education
2024-06-19
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1The United Nations children's agency recently noted that one thousand days have passed since Afghan officials banned girls from attending secondary schools.
2Catherine Russell is the executive director of UNICEF.
3On June 13, Russell said, "No country can move forward when half its population is left behind."
4In a statement, Russell urged Taliban officials to permit all children to restart learning immediately.
5She also called on the international community to support Afghan girls, who she said need it more than ever.
6The agency estimates that more than 1 million girls are affected.
7The U.N. has warned that the ban on girls' education remains the Taliban's biggest barrier to gaining recognition as the lawful rulers of Afghanistan.
8The Taliban took over Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces in 2021.
9The group has said that educating girls goes against its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
10Although it has promised a more moderate rule, the Taliban has also barred women from higher education, most jobs, and even public spaces like parks.
11When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, they also banned girls' education.
12The Taliban has barred girls from attending classes beyond sixth grade.
13It is the only country in the world with such restrictions on female education.
14The Taliban shut down girls' secondary schools in 2022.
15The group gave "religious and cultural" concerns as the reasons.
16The Taliban officials said they were working to create a correct educational environment for older female students.
17The new school year started in March with girls barred from attending classes beyond the sixth grade.
18Female journalists were not permitted to attend the opening ceremony.
19An Afghan education official told VOA at the time that the ruling Taliban group might permanently close girls' secondary schools.
20The official said the Taliban is instead supporting religious schools known as madrasas.
21"Schools may never be reopened the way they were under the occupation," an official at Afghanistan's Education Ministry told VOA.
22The official was referring to 2001 to 2021, when the U.S. military was in the country.
23Last week, UNICEF's executive director called the systematic exclusion of girls a "violation of their right to education."
24She added it also resulted in decreasing opportunities for girls and affected their mental health.
25She said UNICEF has worked with partners to run community-based education classes for 600,000 children, two-thirds of them girls, and train teachers in Afghanistan.
26Although Afghan boys have access to education, Human Rights Watch has said the Taliban's "abusive" educational policies are harming them.
27In a report published in December, the group said the departure of qualified teachers, changes in curriculum, and an increase in physical, or corporal, punishment have led to greater fear of going to school and falling attendance.
28Also on Thursday, a spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office said the Taliban has told female public civil servants that their pay would be cut to the lowest level regardless of their experience or qualifications.
29The group had already banned females from working.
30Volker Türk is the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
31The spokesperson said he urged the group to withdraw laws, orders, and all other measures that discriminated against women and girls, in violation of the country's human rights obligations.
32Nobody from the Taliban was immediately available for comment.
33I'm Jill Robbins.
1The United Nations children's agency recently noted that one thousand days have passed since Afghan officials banned girls from attending secondary schools. 2Catherine Russell is the executive director of UNICEF. On June 13, Russell said, "No country can move forward when half its population is left behind." 3In a statement, Russell urged Taliban officials to permit all children to restart learning immediately. She also called on the international community to support Afghan girls, who she said need it more than ever. The agency estimates that more than 1 million girls are affected. 4The U.N. has warned that the ban on girls' education remains the Taliban's biggest barrier to gaining recognition as the lawful rulers of Afghanistan. 5The Taliban took over Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces in 2021. The group has said that educating girls goes against its strict interpretation of Islamic law. 6Although it has promised a more moderate rule, the Taliban has also barred women from higher education, most jobs, and even public spaces like parks. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s, they also banned girls' education. 7The Taliban has barred girls from attending classes beyond sixth grade. It is the only country in the world with such restrictions on female education. 8New school year 9The Taliban shut down girls' secondary schools in 2022. The group gave "religious and cultural" concerns as the reasons. 10The Taliban officials said they were working to create a correct educational environment for older female students. 11The new school year started in March with girls barred from attending classes beyond the sixth grade. Female journalists were not permitted to attend the opening ceremony. 12An Afghan education official told VOA at the time that the ruling Taliban group might permanently close girls' secondary schools. The official said the Taliban is instead supporting religious schools known as madrasas. 13"Schools may never be reopened the way they were under the occupation," an official at Afghanistan's Education Ministry told VOA. The official was referring to 2001 to 2021, when the U.S. military was in the country. 14Last week, UNICEF's executive director called the systematic exclusion of girls a "violation of their right to education." She added it also resulted in decreasing opportunities for girls and affected their mental health. 15She said UNICEF has worked with partners to run community-based education classes for 600,000 children, two-thirds of them girls, and train teachers in Afghanistan. 16Although Afghan boys have access to education, Human Rights Watch has said the Taliban's "abusive" educational policies are harming them. In a report published in December, the group said the departure of qualified teachers, changes in curriculum, and an increase in physical, or corporal, punishment have led to greater fear of going to school and falling attendance. 17Also on Thursday, a spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office said the Taliban has told female public civil servants that their pay would be cut to the lowest level regardless of their experience or qualifications. The group had already banned females from working. 18Volker Türk is the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. The spokesperson said he urged the group to withdraw laws, orders, and all other measures that discriminated against women and girls, in violation of the country's human rights obligations. 19Nobody from the Taliban was immediately available for comment. 20I'm Jill Robbins. 21Hai Do adapted this Associated Press report for VOA Learning English with additional reporting from VOANEWS. 22_________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24journalist -n. a person who collects, writes or edits news stories for newspapers, magazines, TV or radio 25exclusion -n. the act of barring a person from a group 26access -n. the ability to get into a place or an activity 27curriculum -n. the education plan for a class or for a course of education 28regardless of -adv. without be stopped by 29obligation -n. something that is required by law, morality or ethics 30We want to hear from you.