On March 23, the beginning of the new school term, girls who were supposed to return to classes were refused, as the Taliban announce girl’s secondary schools would remain closed. This means that female student above grade six would not be allowed to attend. This was going back on their promise, made only two days earlier that they would be ending their seven month ban on girls attending secondary school.
The ban is appalling, however not shocking. The last time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, they banned girls from schools and refused women the freedom to work. Since their return to power in August of 2021, women have been told to stay home, refusing them fundamental human rights, and undoing twenty years of progress.
On Saturday, dozens of protesters, mainly females, chanted near the Taliban’s Ministry of Education in Kabul, "Education is our right! Open the doors of girls' schools!". This protest was held with armed Taliban members watching. In the past, the Taliban have broken up protests and detained those involved. When asked about the danger of protesting, a female teacher said, “ When it comes to standing up for freedom and the girls who want to go to school, I'm willing to die.” (BBC News)
The response to the school closures has been deeply critical of the Taliban, with a statement from the UN human rights chief saying, “ The denial of education violates the humans rights of women and girls - beyond their equal right to education, it leaves them more exposed to violence, poverty and exploitation”.
While the current indefinite ban is daunting and highly disappointing, all hope is not gone for Afghan girls. Malala Yousafzai, has said, “It is much harder this time – that is because women have seen what it means to be educated, what it means to be empowered. This time is going to be much harder for the Taliban to maintain the ban on girls’ education. This ban will not last forever.”
Event Recap:
On March 26-27th, Girl Up collaborated with UAEM, Friends of MSF, Queen’s Period and QAGR for the Women’s Health Conference. There were many renowned speakers such as Dr. Karen Lawford, Dr. Jenn Carpenter, Dr. Fozia Alvi, Dr. Karen Yeates, Dr. Graeme Smith, Dr. Peter Greer, Dr. Susan Luong, Dr. Maria Velez, Nika Elmi, Kiera Liblik, A Anbalagan and Erika Campbell that attendees were able to learn from! Participants chose which workshops they would like to attend from a wide range of offerings and learn a lot from experienced healthcare professionals in the field.
Contributors: Alexandra Lam and Michelle Mah