KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban has declined to attend a major international conference on girls’ education in the Muslim world, hosted by neighboring Pakistan, Pakistani officials confirmed on Saturday.
Pakistan’s Education Minister, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, told Agence France Presse (AFP) that an official invitation was extended to the Taliban to attend the two-day conference, which began on January 11 in Islamabad, but no representatives participated.
“We extended an invitation to Afghanistan, but no one from the Afghan government attended the conference,” the Pakistani official said, adding that representatives from various organizations dedicated to girls’ education in Afghanistan participated in the event.
The international conference, titled “Girls Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities,” is jointly organized by the government of Pakistan and the Muslim World League, a prominent Islamic organization.
The event brought together around 150 delegates from 47 countries and many international organizations to discuss the challenges and opportunities in advancing girls’ education across Muslim communities worldwide.
Among the notable speakers are Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Laureate and Pakistani education activist, and Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), according to Pakistani media.
The Taliban, who regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, imposed a ban on girls’ education above sixth grade, which was later extended to universities and work in most sectors. Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, remains the only country where women and girls are prohibited from attending schools and universities.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported last year that the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education has affected over 1.4 million girls. “If we add the girls who were already out of school before the bans were introduced, there are now almost 2.5 million girls in the country deprived of their right to education, representing 80% of Afghan school-age girls,” UNICEF said.
The UN agency warned that the ban has “almost wiped out” two decades of progress in education in Afghanistan, with the future of an entire generation now at risk. The agency noted a decline in primary school enrollment, from 6.8 million students before the Taliban takeover to 5.7 million in 2022.
Over the past few years, the majority of the international community, including Islamic nations and organizations, has condemned the Taliban’s restrictive policies, urging the regime to comply with international laws and uphold the fundamental rights of women.
The Taliban, however, argue that their policies and practices are rooted in Islamic Sharia law and Afghan traditions, claiming that human rights and equality are Western concepts that clash with Islamic principles.
