Afghan girls endure 3 years without school under Taliban rule: A sad and depressing milestone

Afghan girls endure 3 years without school under Taliban rule: A sad and depressing milestone

Maryam Adli

Everybody is entitled to an education. However, 80% of girls in Afghanistan do not attend school. Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, they have banned secondary education for girls, preventing over 1.5 million of them from completing grade 6.

Gender apartheid is a system of oppression that the Taliban employs laws and policies to deny rights to millions of girls and women. Girls and women are not allowed to work, attend school, or engage in public life. Women and girls are speaking out against the persecution of the Taliban and learning in secret, despite the terrible circumstances they live in.

Despite significant obstacles, the enormous advancements in education over the previous 20 years could be completely erased by this disastrous move. Additionally, it makes Afghanistan the only country in the world that currently forbids women and girls from attending school.

Given the importance of educated women to the nation’s progress, there is a risk of a generation being lost. If half of Afghanistan’s people is denied the opportunity to pursue an education and engage in public life, then no nation can progress, including Afghanistan.

One of the most urgent human rights concerns in Afghanistan is the prohibition on teaching girls older than 12 years of age. Despite significant international efforts, the Taliban government’s decision to forbid girls above the age of 12 from attending school in December 2022 led to the implementation of this prohibition, which hasn’t been lifted yet. Examining the past of women’s education highlights a problem that has always been contentious in Afghan society. Numerous studies have linked it to the issue of women’s employment and have recognized it as a significant impediment to the nation’s economic progress. It is currently one of the biggest obstacles keeping the international world from making investments in Afghanistan or helping with its reconstruction.

Currently, 80% of Afghan girls and young women who are of school age—roughly 2.5 million people—do not attend school, according to UNESCO. Furthermore, approximately 30% of girls in Afghanistan have never attended elementary school. The Taliban media justified the prohibition by citing a lack of financial resources as a barrier to their capacity to offer curriculum that adheres to Islamic Sharia law and a secure learning environment. Nevertheless, neither their goals for a women’s dress code that complies with Sharia law nor their definition of curricular conformity with Islamic principles have been made explicit.

In addition to being a fundamental human rights concern, women’s education is a major barrier to Afghanistan’s economic growth. Research has indicated that differences in education across genders have a negative impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation. Potential foreign investments and Afghan rehabilitation efforts are also seriously hampered by this violation of human rights. A confidential source revealed that 151 institutions were forced to close and around 100,000 women in the beauty sector lost their jobs as a result of the restriction on hiring women.

Ever since formal education was introduced in the country, educating Afghan women has been a complicated and diverse task. It has always encountered obstacles, mainly because the majority of solutions have been imposed from on high rather than coming from sincere popular desire. These methods frequently downplay the significance of integrating education gradually and letting it develop naturally within its local environment free from outside influences. Therefore, it is imperative to implement more sophisticated and innovative solutions that consider the unique political, social, and economic circumstances of Afghanistan.

For far too long, the Taliban’s false promises and silence have kept female teachers and students in a never-ending cycle of waiting and disappointment. Justifications based on Afghan or Muslim tradition are demonstrably false, and they serve only as facile justifications for the Taliban. There are factions within the group that will allow females to attend school, and both sides are in severe need of financial assistance. If the international community continues to exert pressure and donate through humanitarian groups, the Taliban’s divides may be exploited, and Afghan women can be given the opportunity to learn.

#LetAfghanGirlsLearn

Dr. Maryam Adli is the Azerbaijan Correspondent of Mahabahu

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