Toronto, 23 March – Today, Taliban leadership announced that all secondary school classes for girls are to be suspended, pending further policy.
Earlier in the week, the Ministry of Education confirmed that all boys and girls would be returning to school today and that all necessary accommodations would be made to make sure that Afghan girls would have access to a quality education. This morning, Afghan secondary school girls made their way to their classes across the country only to find out when they had arrived that the Ministry of Education had reversed their decision, causing confusion, uncertainty and despair for girls who have already been denied access to an education for months.
“This reversal is appalling. Girls’ access to education is a fundamental human right—and child right. No girl should be turned away from school and denied her right to an education,” said Danny Glenwright, Save the Children Canada’s president and CEO. “Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy put Canada on the map as a global leader in gender equality and a vocal champion for girls’ access to education. We now urge Canada to use all diplomatic means necessary to engage with the Afghan Ministry of Education, condemn this decision and demand an immediate reversal in policy.”
“The ban on girls secondary education 185 days ago has nearly doubled the number of out-of-school girls at the secondary level in Afghanistan and cost Afghan girls more than 200 million days of learning to date,” added Glenwright. “As the world is slowly emerging from a global pandemic that had millions of children around the world unable to access education, being shut out of their schools is a massive setback for Afghan secondary school girls, who already live in a context where they struggle tremendously to have their rights realized. They must be allowed to go to school and we urgently call on Canada to leverage its diplomatic influence to advocate for Afghan girls’ right to education.”
Save the Children’s Regional Director for Asia, Hassan Noor Saadi, said:
“All girls have a right to an education. The authorities have made repeated statements in recent weeks that they will restore girl’s access to education in Afghanistan. Today, we are appalled that the authorities have failed to fulfil their promise.
Every day girls are out of school is a day their basic human rights are being denied. We urge the authorities to reverse this decision and ensure schools for girls open immediately. Girls must be allowed to return to school.”
Save the Children has been supporting communities and protecting children’s rights across Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict, regime change, and natural disasters. The organisation has programmes in 10 provinces and work with partners in an additional three provinces. Since the crisis escalated in August 2021, Save the Children has been scaling up its response to support the increasing number of children in need, delivering health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene and food security and livelihoods support.
ENDS
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