Calls to reopen schools continue in Afghanistan

As the Taliban continues to restrict women's rights in Afghanistan, the head of the Afghan-Turk Education Foundation in Afghanistan, Ahmed Tukur has said that the issue has again been raised with the de-facto authorities and that he is hopeful of opening of schools, TOLOnews reported.

In a press conference, Tukur expressed his wish that girls' schools would resume as soon as possible.

"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,” he said, according to TOLOnews.

READ | Afghanistan women demand education rights in UN appeal: ‘Nothing allowed for us…'

Women and girls have been denied their most fundamental rights, such as the right to education, for the past two years, according to Heather Barr, director of Human Rights Watch's Women's Rights Division.

“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, and their hopes for the future. And this has left them in a situation where they are so desperate,” Barr said, TOLOnews reported.

In the meantime, some female students once again are asking the current government not to take away their right to education.

READ | Two years into Taliban rule, uncertainty shadows women's education in Afghanistan

Afghanistan, a country heavily reliant on aid, lost Western donor support with the Taliban's return to power following the US and NATO pullout in August 2021.

The Afghan economy swiftly collapsed, forcing self-sufficient Afghans to seek humanitarian aid to survive. Because of widespread human rights violations, the Taliban's regime has been under international isolation.

Notably, with the resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 in Afghanistan, the country’s educational system has suffered a significant setback. As a result, girls have been deprived of access to education, and seminaries or religious schools have gradually filled the void left by schools and universities.

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