UNAMA: Ban on Girls' Education in Afghanistan Deepens the Human Rights Crisis

Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of UNAMA, emphasized in the statement, "The new academic year in Afghanistan has begun, yet once again classrooms face the obvious and harmful absence of girls; a situation that not only darkens the future of girls but also threatens the peace and prosperity of the Afghan people."

Expressing concern over the continuation of this situation, Otunbayeva added, "I am deeply disappointed that Taliban officials continue to ignore the voices of the Afghan people—people who have endured decades of war and are now grappling with a humanitarian crisis. This ban restricts the prospect for the country's improvement and must be lifted."

According to her, the continuation of this ban is one of the main factors behind Afghanistan's isolation in the international community and has halted the country's economic and political progress.

The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative also called on the international community to continue its support for the people of Afghanistan and stated, "I urge global donors to continue their support for the people of Afghanistan, particularly in the field of education, wherever possible."

According to statistics from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), so far 2.2 million girls have been deprived of their right to education—with 400,000 of them deprived of schooling just this year. Forecasts indicate that if this ban continues until 2030, the number of girls deprived of education will exceed four million.

This comes as the new academic year in Afghanistan began this week, yet girls above the sixth grade remain deprived of schooling by the Taliban.