1000 Days Since the Taliban ban on Girls’ Education in Afghanistan
June 14, 2024: Today marks the 1000-day mark from when the Taliban banned girls’ education in Afghanistan. Specifically, the ban prohibited girls and women from attending school past 6th grade. This decision has influenced the lives of millions of women in the country.
Aside from the education ban, women have been randomly detained, tortured, and forced to live with rigid Taliban rules in their homes.
The situation in Afghanistan is being described as a “gender apartheid” given that it involves social discrimination against individuals because of their sex. The situation is serious — UN experts say “Gender apartheid must be recognised as a crime against humanity.”
Organizations have been taking action to help. For example, the Malala Fund met on International Women’s Day and co-hosted an event to “examine why and how leaders must codify gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.” Moreover, they just announced over $1.5 million of new funding for organizations working to keep girls learning in Afghanistan.
At the same time, an important step that a lot of people and organizations are taking is to amplify women’s voices. Namely, by listening to the words, needs, and desires of the women victims themselves, we can better understand how to aid the situation. Please see this link for a collection of first-hand stories.
On the 1000th day anniversary of the ban, it is all the more important to take action now, to help these women and to ameliorate the situation.
Bibliography:
“Gender apartheid must be recognised as a crime against humanity, UN experts say.” United Nations Human Rights: Office of the High Commissioner. Last modified February 20, 2024. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/gender-apartheid-must-be-recognised-crime-against-humanity-un-experts-say.
Malala Fund. “Afghan girls have not gone to school for 1,000 days.” Malala Fund.Last modified June 14, 2024. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://malala.org/ newsroom/1000-days-grants.
Messieh, Nancy. 2024. “Inside Afghanistan’s Gender Apartheid: Listen as Women Reveal the
Impact of the Taliban’s Oppressive Decrees.” Atlantic Council. April 30, 2024. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/inside-afghanistans-gender-apartheid-listen-as-women-reveal-the-impact-of-the-talibans-oppressive-decrees/#:~:text=Women%20have%20been%20arbitrarily%20detained,after%20their%20release%20reported%20adequately.
