New York
Members of the United Nations Security Council, in a joint statement on the Taliban’s reversal of their promise on girls’ education, said that all the girls in Afghanistan should be allowed to go to school.
Notably, on March 21, the Taliban said they would lift a seven-month-old de facto ban on girls’ education from Class 6 onwards and reopen schools on the first day of Afghanistan’s new academic year however two days later the regime backtracked on its decision.
In a joint statement delivered by the Permanent Representatives of The United Arab Emirates and Norway, on behalf of Albania, Brazil, France, Gabon, Ireland, Mexico, UK, US, Norway and UAE, the members said the decision is a reversal of the commitments the Taliban themselves have made in recent weeks and months as part of the ongoing engagement with the international community.
This afternoon, the Security Council will hear an important briefing by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, on the Taliban’s reversal of their earlier promise for girls to be able to return to school beyond the 6th grade, the statement read.
“This week – more than a million Afghan girls were getting ready to finally be able to return to school. Their hopes were dashed at the last minute when they learned that their right to an education will continue to be denied,” it added.
