KABUL (TOLONews): UNICEF has reported that by the end of this year, the number of Afghan girls deprived of education beyond grade six will reach 2.2 million.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, stated that the number of girls excluded from education continues to rise each year.
Russell said: “It has been four years since adolescent girls in Afghanistan were barred from attending school beyond grade 6. By the end of 2025, more than 2.2 million adolescent girls will have been excluded from education.”
At the same time, a number of schoolgirls and international organizations are calling for the reopening of educational institutions for girls.
This comes as school doors remain closed to girls for the fourth consecutive year.
Hadiya, a university student, said: “This is very concerning for me because, year after year, we are losing our youth, wasting our lives, and falling behind in our studies.”
Maqboola, a school student, said: “The problem is that school doors are closed. Please, we kindly ask you to open these doors for us.”
Meanwhile, the organization Education Cannot Wait also released a report citing UNESCO, which warns that continuing this ban until 2030 will result in a total loss of $1.5 billion to the country’s GDP.
The organization also called on world leaders and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to work toward resolving this crisis.
A part of the report reads: “World leaders must continue to advocate for the right to education for every girl in Afghanistan, complementing efforts by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to unite scholars and religious authorities in the Islamic world against the decision to prevent girls from education.”
Tafsir Siyahposh, a women’s rights activist, said: “Our demand as women from the Islamic Emirate is to pay attention and reopen the school gates—this situation is irreversible.”
Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate has consistently referred to the issue of girls’ education as a domestic matter and has stressed that international organizations and foreign countries should not interfere.
