The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for “equal and unhindered access to quality education” for all Afghans, adding the US stands with the Afghan women and girls.
“Today the world is recognizing International Day of Education in honor of Afghan women and girls, who are systematically denied this human right by the Taliban. We stand with you and call for equal and unhindered access to quality education for all Afghans.” Blinken said in a tweet on Tuesday.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which dedicated this years International Day of Education to the Afghan women and girls, said that “dreams and hopes of girls and women in Afghanistan have been ripped away” with the violation of their rights to education.
In September 2021, only a month after their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban barred girls from secondary schools. And in December 2022, the group banned women from higher education and working for NGOs.
“All women and girls must be able to resume their education in Afghanistan,” the UN Women reiterated on it call on Tuesday, adding that all Afghan women and girls must have equal right to learn.
The UN Women Afghanistan said that “all Afghan women and girls must be able to exercise their right to study at all levels, for themselves and for Afghanistan’s future.”
The U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Michèle Taylor, called for unified fight to ensure education equity for all. “On #InternationalDayofEducation, we honor the resilience of women and girls in Afghanistan who have been denied basic access to education,” she said in a tweet today.
The Taliban has been widely condemned for making these decisions, including by some Islamic countries and organizations which denounce their decisions as contrary to Islamic preaching, and asked to reverse their decisions.
