Taliban To "Allow" Afghan Girls Access To Secondary School Education: UNICEF Official

Taliban to open secondary schools for girls: Afghan girls will soon be allowed to attend secondary schools in the country. This development was shared by a senior United Nations official, Omar Abdi, based on the information he had received from Taliban officials.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Executive Director Abdi visited Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, last week. During a recent media interaction at the UN Headquarters, he revealed that five out of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan--Balkh, Jawzjan and Samangan in the northwest, Urozgan in the southwest and Kunduz in the northeast--have allowed girls to attend secondary school.

According to Abdi, the Taliban's Education Minister informed him that the Taliban is working on "a framework" to allow all girls to continue their schooling beyond sixth grade. This framework will be published within a period of one month or two.

The Taliban said to the chief that once the 'framework' will address the concerns of the conservative societies about separating girls and boys and female teachers, thus encouraging more parents to send their daughters to secondary schools.

"As I speak to you today, millions of girls of secondary school age are missing out on education for the 27th consecutive day," said Abdi. While adding that the world organisation is urging them not to wait and that "it's a day lost for those girls that are out of school".

On September 17, the Taliban had only opened the secondary education schools for boys, becoming the only country in the world to ban half its population from receiving secondary education.

The last time the Taliban was in power, between 1996-2001, the conservative outfit didn't allow girls and women the right to education and they were also barred from working or having a public life. Since their August 15 takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban has been under immense international pressure to ensure women are granted the right to education and work.

The UNICEF official also said that he has been pressing the Taliban "to let girls resume their learning" in every meeting while calling it "critical for the girls themselves and for the country as a whole".

Although, the Deputy Chief of the United Nation's Children Fund said that despite this positive development  (referring to allowing the girls secondary education) 4.2 million Afghan children remain out of school, which includes 2.6 million girls.

Suggested Reading:

Taliban Bans IPL Broadcast In Afghanistan As It Shows ‘Women Dancing, Sitting In Audience’

Beheshta Arghand, Journalist Who Interviewed Taliban On TV, Leaves Afghanistan

Taliban Bans Co-education, Female Teachers Can’t Teach Male Students In Herat

Also Trending: