KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – On the International Day of the Girl, Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Special Representative and head of UNAMA, urged the Taliban to lift the ban on girls’ education.
In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring October 11 as International Day of the Girl, to recognize and advocate for the rights of girls around the world.
The UN announced the 2024 theme for the day, “Girls’ Vision for the Future,” highlighting the urgent challenges girls face worldwide, including the climate crisis, conflict, poverty, and setbacks to their rights and gender equality.
In a statement on Friday, Otunbayeva expressed marking the day with “great sorrow,” noting that it has been 1,120 days since the Taliban imposed a ban on educating girls over the age of 12.
The UN envoy stated that this marks more than three years of lost opportunity not only for millions of girls, but also for families, communities, and the entire country.
“As each day passes, even greater damage is being done to the lives of women and girls. Afghanistan is being taken backwards, not forwards, in its quest for peace, recovery, and prosperity,” said Otunbayeva.
“I take this opportunity to again appeal to the de facto authorities [Taliban] to change course. I also promise to Afghanistan’s women and girls that we will not cease to speak up for them, even when others seek to silence them,” she added.
Today marks 1,120 days since the Taliban imposed a ban on girls’ education beyond sixth grade, affecting over 1.5 million Afghan girls who have been excluded from schooling.
Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, is the only country in the world where girls are barred from attending school, women are banned from universities and work, and numerous other restrictions effectively exclude them from public life.
The Taliban’s restrictive measures on women and girls have severely impacted their lives, leaving them feeling hopeless, depressed, and struggling with mental health issues.
In a report last year, UN Women revealed that nearly 70% of women and girls in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan are struggling with anxiety, isolation, and depression.
Despite repeated calls from the UN, rights groups, aid providers, and Islamic countries over the past three years, the Taliban has refused to lift the ban, arguing that it is an internal matter and others should not interfere.
