Taliban Decried Globally For Closing Paktia Girls’ Schools
The Taliban were publicly criticized globally for closing the girls’ schools in Paktia after a brief opening.
It sparked severe reactions inside and outside of Afghanistan. On Saturday, dozens of girls took to the streets in the centre of Paktia to protest the closing of their schools, reported Tolo News.
The videos of the protests went viral on social media and triggered strong reactions by the Afghan public as well as famous politicians and human rights defenders.
“The fight of Afghan girls/women for the right to education is important for the entire humanity because gender apartheid and contraction of freedom in one country can have fallout for the rest of humanity,” said Afrasiab Khattak, a former Pakistani senator and analyst of regional affairs.
Earlier, some girls’ schools above grade 6 in the province had been reopened due to a decision by tribal elders and local educational officials. Still, the schools were closed again, reported Tolo News.
“The fight of Afghan girls/women for the right to education is important for the entire humanity because gender apartheid and contraction of freedom in one country can have fallout for the rest of humanity,” said Afrasiab Khattak, a former Pakistani senator and analyst of regional affairs.
The founder and head of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Mazoor Pastheen, said that Saturday’s protest for educational rights by the girls in Paktia is praiseworthy, reported Tolo News.
“In the 21st century, the Afghan girls are being deprived of education by force,” he said.
Nazar Mohammad Motmaeen, head of the Afghan National Olympic Committee, on Twitter criticized the closure of schools and said there has yet to be a decision about whether to close or reopen the schools for girls, reported Tolo News.
Heather Barr, director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch said on Twitter that the “Taliban just shut down girls’ schools in Paktia–after community members pushed for them to open. What will the HRC do? We want a much tougher UN action on accountability.”
Several human rights and education activists had urged world leaders in an open letter recently to mount diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools for girls in the war-torn country as the Taliban’s brutal regime in Afghanistan will soon complete a year in August.
Young girls and women have been compromising with their aspirations for almost 300 days since their development was distorted. The activists added that if this situation persists, their aims and hopes will suffer greatly, reported Khaama Press.
World leaders, regional allies, and international organizations were urged in the letter to take serious actions to fulfil their commitments in order to promote and protect Afghan girls’ rights, especially the right to education which was snatched away from them after the Taliban-led Afghan government banned the education for girls in classes 6 and above. (ANI)
