UNHCR expresses concern over Taliban decree banning girls from schools

Afghan girl students walk along a road in Kabul. File Pic/AFP

United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern over the closure of secondary schools for Afghan girls and their safety. The UN agency said that Afghan women are not being allowed to work and get education while their safety concerns are mounting, Khaama Press reported. "Afghan girls are facing restrictions on travel, work, education, besides their deteriorating safety situation in the country," said the UN agency, while calling for the protection of human values and rights of women and girls.

The envoys and representatives of the European Union, US, and the European countries in a joint statement have also said that the international aid to Kabul will depend on Afghanistan's ability to ensure access to education for girls at all levels, said a media report. In the joint statement, the envoys and the representatives have said that the type and scope of "international donor assistance will depend, among other things, on the right and ability of girls to attend equal education at all levels," reported TOLOnews.

The joint statement further stressed that the progress towards normalized relations between the Taliban and the international community will depend mostly on Kabul's actions and delivery on commitments and obligations to the Afghan people and to the international community. Moreover, during a briefing of the Diplomatic Corps on April 6, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Mette Knudsen, highlighted that the Taliban's decision to ban girls from attending secondary schools has negatively impacted the attitude of the global community towards them.

The Taliban have issued a decree banning female students above grade six from attending their classes in schools. The girls were further told to stay home until the Islamic Emirate announces its next decision. The decision by the Islamic Emirate has drawn severe backlash across the world with the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union issuing a joint statement to condemn the Taliban's decision to deny so many Afghan girls the opportunity to finally go back to schools.

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