The International Community Condemns Taliban’s Recent Decision Reversal on Girls' Education

The International Community Condemns Taliban’s Recent Decision Reversal on Girls' Education
Photo Source: Sayed Bidel for UNICEF

05-04-2022

Ruhama Yilma Abebe

Women’s Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

On March 23, 2022, it was reported that Taliban has once again prevented girls from 7th – 12th grade from attending school. This decision goes against Taliban’s earlier promise to allow girls in this grade range to attend school. The decision was met with condemnation both locally and internationally. 

In the country, the decision was met with protests led by women and girl protestors chanting “Education is our right. Open the doors of girls’ schools”. The protests were held around the Ministry of Education on March 26, 2022. 

Internationally, the move has been condemned by International Organizations, Regional Organizations and countries. The UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres deemed the decision “deeply damaging for Afghanistan”and indicated that it “jeopardizes the country’s future”. Finally, he urged for the opening of schools for all students. Other UN officials such as the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Balachelet and Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund Catherine Russell have also condemned the decision. 

The European Union has also condemned the failure to reopen schools and called on the Taliban to open schools. Meanwhile, the World Bank has suspended four projects with a total worth of 600 million dollars that were to be carried out in Afghanistan as a result of this decision. The suspended projects included those aimed at the improvement of education, health and agriculture.  

Various countries including Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar, France, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Norway and the United States of America have also condemned the Taliban's decision. 

Sources and further reading:

Yildiz, Kristina (2022, March 24), “Afghan Girls Denied Higher Education”, GHRTV World News, Retrieved on April 05, 2022 from http://ghrtv.org/afghan-girls-denied-higher-education 

Connet, David (2022, March 27), “Protesters Call for the Taliban to Reopen Afghan Girl’s Schools”, The Guardian, Retrieved on April 05, 2022 from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/27/protesters-call-for-the-taliban-to-reopen-afghan-girls-schools on 05/04/2022

AlJazeera (2022, March 26), “Afghan Girls Stage Protest, Demand Taliban Reopen Schools” AlJazeera News, Retrieved on April 05, 2022 from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/26/afghan-girls-protest-demanding-taliban-to-reopen-schools 

United Nations (2022, March 23, “Taliban’s Backtracking on Girl’s Education, ‘deeply damaging’”, UN News, Retrieved on April 05, 2022 from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114482 

BBC (2022, March 30), “Afghanistan: World Bank Freezes Projects Over Girls’ School Ban”, BBC News, Retrieved on April 05, 2022 from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60923196 

Barr, Heather (2022, March 30), “Responding to Taliban Attacks on Women’s Rights: Guidelines for Donor Countries, Other Concerned Governments”, Human Rights Watch, Retrieved on April 05, 2022 from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/30/responding-taliban-attacks-womens-rights 

O’Donnell, Lynne (2022, March 29), “Taliban Reversal on Girls’ Education Ignites World’s Anger”, Foreign Policy, Retrieved on April 05, 2022 from https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/29/taliban-girls-education-ban-reversal-afghanistan-schools/