Woman activist calls for action against ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan

Kabul [Afghanistan]: A woman activist in Afghanistan has come out openly against the Taliban’s draconian policies, putting curbs on the education of girls in the country, Khaama Press reported, adding that she called for strict action against the ban.

Fatima Amiri, a survivor of the Kaaj Educational Centre attack and a staunch advocate for girls’ education, criticised the suspension of scholarships for Afghan girls and requested that alternate educational alternatives be considered rather than implementing prohibitive policies in the country.

Addressing a virtual conference on the education of girls in Afghanistan, Amiri said that there should be a sustained fight against the normalisation of the education ban.

She said that opposition to girls’ education derives from a gender apartheid attitude that affects decades, not simply hundreds or millions, Khaama Press reported.

Significantly, Amiri was a part of the elite class at the Kaaj Educational Centre, which was targeted by a terrorist attack in September 2022, killing over 60 students and seriously injuring her. She is presently receiving therapy in Turkey. Fatima and her classmates, many of whom were also injured, sat the university entrance exam about a month after the attack, earning public attention with their university admissions. However, the Taliban forbade girls from pursuing further education.

In December of the same year, Amiri was designated one of the BBC’s 100 important and inspiring women, Khaama Press reported.

Fatima has time and again stressed that opening up possibilities for girls’ education overseas is a priority and online education for girls should also be supported.

She posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that providing online classes for girls was another option, though not the primary one. Nonetheless, efforts should be made to guarantee that education does not come to a halt, she noted.

“The topic of discussion: Education of Afghan girls! In this emergency, many opportunities should be created for Afghan girls, not unlike many countries that have stopped giving scholarships to Afghan girls because they do not have the right to leave the country without Muharram, they should not suffer from both sides,” she posted on X.

“Another way is to create online courses, which still cannot solve the problem from the root, but efforts should be made not to stop education in general. Don’t let the education of Afghan girls (closing the doors of universities and schools) be normalized,” she added.

It has been over two years since the Taliban banned girls from attending schools after sixth grade in Afghanistan and has not taken any step towards restoring girls’ education in the country.

Since the Taliban took the reins of Afghanistan, they have issued several decrees imposing restrictions on women. Afghanistan’s women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to the helm of Afghanistan in 2021.

Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment, or even public spaces.