Act on the Taliban and Secure Our Right to Education, Afghan Women and Girls’ Plea — Global Issues
GENEVA & BULAWAYO, February 16 (IPS) – Education Cannot Wait director Yasmine Sherif says about US$70 million has been spent on education in Afghanistan and nearly 60% of that money goes to supporting children. girl; More funding is underway. “We have a show going on and it goes on – it doesn’t stop.” It has been more than 500 days since the Taliban regime in Afghanistan closed schools and shattered the educational dreams of girls and women like Somaya Faruqi, who were forced to leave their homeland to continue their education. question.
Faruqi, a student and engineer, has called for a global intervention to secure the right to education for the millions of girls and women who were left out of school and university after the Taliban regime took power in the country. The war-scarred family in September 2021 closed the doors to girls. of the school.
“Exactly 514 days ago, my heart broke with the dreams of millions of girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country; they spread terror on us, tearing apart our families and homes, leaving us hopeless and in a world that no longer feels its own,” said Faruqi, Education Campaigner Women’s Education and the Captain of the Afghan Women’s Robotics Team, said at Education Cannot. The Wait (ECW) Financial Summit in Geneva, Switzerland this week, called on the world to take decisive action against the Taliban.
ECW, the United Nations’ global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, convened a two-day conference calling for $1.5 billion in funding to help implement 4-year strategic plan to support children and youth affected by crisis to learn safely and without fear. The conference seeks to mobilize resources to meet the educational needs of 222 million children and young people in crisis.
International reporter and author Christina Lamb, who moderates a panel discussion on Afghanistan, emphasizes that war and natural disasters pose a challenge to children’s education and dominate news programming. Today, Afghanistan is a country that has gone out of the headlines where girls and women need help more than anywhere else on earth.
Lamb, who has covered Afghanistan for more than 30 years as a foreign national, commented: “Two decades of progress in education were literally wiped out in 18 months by the return of the Taliban. and cruel restrictions imposed on women and girls. reporter.
“Afghanistan today is the only place on earth where high school girls are banned… an Afghan girl recently said to me, ‘They’ll soon say there’s a shortage of oxygen so only men are allowed to breathe.’ “
Describing education as the key to unlocking the limitless potential in every child, Faruqi – now a refugee in the United States – laments that millions of children today are deprived of their basic right to an education because of negative influences. the Taliban’s attempts to suppress women’s rights.
Calling the denial of education a “tragedy beyond measure,” Faruqi said that girls and women in many parts of the world are in dire straits – from education being banned in Afghanistan to child marriage in Ethiopia to the insecurity of girls in schools in Nigeria.
“222 million children are missing out on education, and that means we are missing out on an incredible 222 million talents; future leaders, scientists, writers and doctors, engineers, etc,” she said, adding, “We can’t waste the time and hope of all these kids. it’s up to you, leaders and donors to support and help fund education systems in every country affected by the crisis… unity without action can’t do anything. “
Pakistani education activist and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai recalls a time when she was unable to attend school when the Taliban banned education in her country and was concerned that the world would forget about the plight of women. Afghan women and girls.
“We should not accept the excuses that the Taliban make; what is the justification the Taliban give… it’s time for world leaders to unite and become a voice for Afghan women and girls. The time has come for us to find ways to ensure that the people and children of Afghanistan are not left behind,” Yousafzai said in a video message to the ECW conference.
Education Cannot Wait director Yasmine Sherif says about $70 million has been spent on education in Afghanistan, and nearly 60 percent of that money goes to supporting girls.
“We have an ongoing program and it doesn’t stop,” Sherif told a news conference, noting that there was a brief pause after the Taliban issued a decree banning girls’ education. , but the educational program has now resumed.
“We have informal discussions with the Department of Education in practice and we can also at the local community level, through our partners, continue to provide education for girls. and we won’t stop,” Sherif said, adding that the program, which will support the education of high school girls, has already made a $30 million investment.
“We have informal discussions with the Department of Education in practice and we can also at the local community level, through our partners, continue to provide education for girls. And we won’t stop.”
Fawzia Koofi, a women’s rights activist and former Deputy Speaker of the Afghan National Assembly, called on the world to put pressure on the Taliban to respect the transition in Afghanistan and ensure girls’ right to education and women.
“We should treat the situation in Afghanistan as a global humanitarian crisis,” Koofi urged, asking the international community to create learning opportunities for Afghan women and girls outside of Afghanistan.
Gordon Brown, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the ECW Senior Steering Group, said the fight for girls and women in Afghanistan must not be lost.
“It is absolutely fundamental that no regime, religious order or dictatorship can prevent a girl from having the right to an education; that’s why we have to turn our words into action now,” Brown said, calling on the world to unite with all the girls protesting against the Taliban and supporting community schools.
Faruqi appeals to a global audience: “We must work together and fund the education system because every child and every girl deserves to live a life at least by the simplest human rights, that is education. Words without action are not enough. This is a real and meaningful act that can make a positive difference.”
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