US special envoy slams Taliban’s ban on girls’ education, calls it ‘destructive’ policy

Kabul [Afghanistan], September 12 (ANI): US Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights in Afghanistan, Rina Amiri on Sunday condemned the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education and said that there is no justification for continuing this destructive policy in the country.
Taking to Twitter, the envoy wrote “There is no justification for continuing this cruel & destructive policy. Not culture, not religion nor logistics,” as she called the prohibition of girls from attending school past the sixth grade in Afghanistan “cynical politics”, Khaama Press reported.

According to the special envoy Amiri, the Taliban’s “cruel” stance toward girls’ education dashes the hopes and potential of young Afghan girls.
Earlier on Saturday, Female students in Afghanistan’s Paktia province protested against the closure of their school and marched in the area.
“Girls protested in the streets in the centre of Paktia to protest the closing of their schools. Earlier, some girls’ schools above grade 6 in the province had been reopened due to a decision by tribal elders and local educational officials, but the schools were closed again,” reported Tolo News.
As per Khaama Press, the province’s schools reopened for girls after a decision by tribal chiefs and local education authorities but were closed again after just two weeks as the decision was taken without the Taliban’s formal instructions.
The Taliban’s decision to ban female students above grade six from going to school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels. Further, the Taliban regime which took over Kabul in August last year has curtailed women’s rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions.
Time and again, several human rights and education activists had urged world leaders to mount diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools for girls in the war-torn country.
Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement for women and girls.
As a result of this, women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights crisis, deprived of the fundamental rights to non-discrimination, education, work, public participation and health. Afghan women are staring at a bleak future due to a number of restrictions imposed by the Taliban governing aspects of their lives within 10 months of Afghanistan’s takeover.
According to HRW, women and girls are blocked from accessing health care as well. Reports suggest that women and girls facing violence have no escape route. Allowing girls into schools and other educational institutes has been one of the main demands of the international community.
The majority of countries have refused to formally recognize the Taliban amid worries over their treatment of girls and women and other human rights issues. Women are no longer allowed to travel unless accompanied by men related to them and are being curtailed from wearing make-up as well as their reproductive rights. (ANI)