On October 11, International Day of the Girl, many in the country have once again called on the government to open the gates of schools and universities to them.
At the same time, the United States Institute of Peace and international institutions have expressed concern about the situation of girls in Afghanistan and called for girls’ rights to be honored in the country. Girls above sixth grade are not allowed to go to school and universities are also closed to them.
Hadya, a sixteen-year-old 10th grader, said that celebrating International Day of the Girl will make sense to her when she goes to school.
“We have always celebrated Girl’s Day, but in these two years we cannot celebrate it,” Girl’s Day is the day when I can go to school, be in the community and schools open to us again.” Hadya told TOLOnews.
“There is no incentive for us to have a day in the name of Girl’s Day. As you can see, universities are closed, work is not allowed to us and schools are closed to us, and we have not studied for more than two years and we cannot improve ourselves,” Roya told TOLOnews.
“Our demand from the Islamic Emirate is to open the doors of schools to us, and our only wish was to go to school on this day. The gift that the Islamic Emirate can give us on this day is to open the gates of schools to us,” Zulaykha said.
Although the Islamic Emirate has not said anything recently about the reopening of girls’ schools, it has already announced that schools and universities will not be permanently closed to girls.
The United States Institute of Peace said in a statement: “As leaders, activists and families across the world commemorate the International Day of the Girl on October 11, the harsh reality faced by millions of Afghan girls stands in stark contrast to many of the planned celebrations. For 750 days and counting, Afghan girls have been forcibly deprived of their right to education and their future because of the Taliban regime’s repressive policies.”
“I want to say to the government of the Islamic Emirate — if you want your government to remain stable and sustainable, please consider the foundation of society,” said Fazela Soroush, women’s right activist.
Families of students also want to secure the rights of their children.
“Today is International Day of the Girl. “I ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen schools, our girls are desperate,” said Abdul Jalil, a Kabul resident. The International Day of the Girl is celebrated every year to encourage and raise awareness of education, health care and the elimination of violent e and discrimination against girls.
