Statement by the Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome, Italy on the 1000 days of the ban on education for girls in Afghanistan

Today marks the 1,000th day that girls in Afghanistan have been banned from attending secondary school. The Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome strongly condemn this gender apartheid perpetrated by the misogynist Taliban regime and its affiliates in Afghanistan.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said: “Today marks a sad and sobering milestone: 1,000 days since the announcement banning girls in Afghanistan from attending secondary schools. 1,000 days out-of-school amounts to 3 billion learning hours lost.” If this gender apartheid continues, it will have a devastating impact on Afghanistan’s future generations.

Before the abandonment of Afghanistan by the US and its allies in August 2021, Afghan girls pursued their education, women worked, held leadership positions, ran ministries, played sports and traveled freely within Afghanistan and abroad. There was progress and hope for the female part of the Afghan population. Since the illegal takeover by the Taliban, the systematic oppression of girls and women quickly began through the issuance of more than 80 decrees and edicts restricting women’s rights — including banning girls from attending secondary school — in the name of the so-called “Taliban Sharia”, which contradicts the sacred teachings of Islam.

At this critical juncture, the international community and policymakers must unite their efforts to protect the fundamental rights of Afghan girls to education. Denying Afghan girls access to school is not only a crime against humanity, but also stifles the potential for a better and more equitable future for them.

As the UN is in the midst of preparations for the upcoming Afghanistan conference in Doha, the participants of this conference should not simply accept the systematic oppression and misery of Afghan girls and women. This red line must be respected and adhered to as one of the most important conditions for recognizing the Taliban regime.

The Embassy and Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Rome stand by the side of the female part of the Afghan population and support organizations that are active in the fields of education and women’s rights that have launched protests and campaigns to draw attention to the discrimination of girls in education in Afghanistan.