KABUL: In recent discussions with officials from the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, Ahmed Tukur, the Head of the Afghan-Turk Education Foundation, expressed optimism about the potential reopening of schools for girls in the country.
Tukur emphasized the importance of ensuring that educational opportunities are extended to girls, aiming for a swift reopening of schools.
We hope that the schools will reopen. We met with the officials, and the discussions are still ongoing. We want the government’s will to open the schools, Tukur conveyed during a news conference.
Heather Barr, the director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, shed light on the harsh reality that women and girls have endured over the past two years. Basic rights, including education, have been systematically denied to them, exacerbating their plight.
“Women and girls over the last two plus years have seen everything stripped away from them. Their social networks, their education, their economic opportunities, their feeling of independence and belonging, their hopes for the future. And this has left them in a situation where they are so desperate,” Barr explained.
In the midst of this educational crisis, female students are raising their voices, imploring the current government to safeguard their right to education. The closure of schools for the past two years has significantly disrupted their academic pursuits and future prospects.
It has been two years that our schools are closed. I hoped to study in the medical faculty once I graduate from school, but so far, there is no hope that schools will be reopened, shared Shila, a hopeful student.
Tamana, another aspiring student, lamented, It has been nearly one year that we are deprived of going to university. I was a student in the medical faculty and really wanted to finish my studies and serve our country and society.
Despite previous assurances from the Ministry of Education regarding plans to facilitate education for females beyond the sixth grade, recent public statements from the ministry have not addressed the pressing issue of girls’ school closures.
