1,149 Days of Forced Confinement and an Uncertain Future for Afghan Girls Under the Shadow of the Taliban
1,149 Days of Forced Confinement and an Uncertain Future for Afghan Girls Under the Shadow of the Taliban

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has reported that last year, it provided essential educational materials to 6.3 million children in Afghanistan, which includes girls.

Rushnan Murtaza, UNICEF’s Deputy Representative in the country, has articulated the organization’s commitment to supporting the education of every child, emphasizing the critical importance of taking action to uphold the right to education.

Afghanistan’s educational system, long reliant on international aid, now faces new challenges. With the Taliban’s resurgence, religious schools and madrasas have proliferated throughout the country, resulting in the establishment of thousands of such institutions during the group’s three years in power.

Fereshta, a student from the Allama Private University under the previous government, expresses her sentiments to the Afghan Women’s News Agency: “I have been studying in a religious school for over a year, yet I am quite dissatisfied with the curriculum; the teachings here cover hadith, jurisprudence, the properties of various rings, the conditions for ablution, ghusl, the shrouding and burial of the deceased, and several credits from the Hanafi school of thought for Shiites, which undoubtedly hold little relevance for girls in an age of scientific and technological advancement. However, given the emptiness of my current situation and enforced confinement, I chose to attend school in the ninth grade to alleviate my psychological distress and prevent depression.”

In the midst of this, girls above the sixth grade remain deprived of their right to education in the country. According to UNICEF, since 2021, more than one million girls have been barred from continuing their studies due to the Taliban’s policies. In the current climate, this denial of educational opportunities for girls not only inflicts severe damage on their individual futures but also presents profound repercussions for society and the nation as a whole.

  • نویسنده : Afghanistan Women News Agency
  • منبع خبر : Afghanistan Women News Agency