What Does the Future Hold for Education in Afghanistan? The Taliban Takes Control of All Education Programs. 

In a new development, international education programs in Afghanistan will hand control over to local groups, under the control of the Taliban and its de facto Ministry of Education. NGOs have been crucial in providing support to Afghan children, especially girls by means of food, education and healthcare services after the takeover of the government in August 2021. 

UNICEF said it has been in talks with the Taliban on the “timelines and practicalities” on handing over its education programs. Last week, the Taliban issued an order that international organizations could no longer be involved in education projects in Afghanistan and that they have to hand over the control to local groups, in coordination with the Taliban Ministry of Education. 

Afghan women and girls worry about this new development leading to further discrimination against their academic opportunities. UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) reported that the order from the Taliban to stop all NGO activities will have an impact on “over 500,000 children, including more than 300,000 girls.” 

In the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, the Taliban has closed education centers that focused on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade. The Taliban did not give a reason for the closures, but simply said they are suspended “until further notice.” After nearly two years, the schools have not reopened. 

Meanwhile, the Taliban has resumed the implementation of new madrassas, religious learning institutions, in at least five provinces across the country. In addition to teaching religious studies, jihadi madrassas have been used as centers for training suicide bombers and weapon use. 

Advocates and political analysts expressed concerns that the establishment of madrassas would fuel extremism among youth and would deprive them of any modern education. While religious education is not always negative, these institutions follow the Taliban’s interpretation of religious text and mindset that focuses on war, killing, violence, and hate. 

There are 1,200 madrassas officially registered and the Taliban plans to add about 4,200 more, 10 in each district. There are a total of 419 districts in Afghanistan.

Secondary schools, however, remain closed for girls, preventing nearly one million girls from receiving a high school education. The ban on girls’ education makes Afghanistan the only country in the world where girls and young women are forbidden from attending secondary school and higher education institutions.

Sources:

Reuters 06/15/2022; Amu TV 06/15/2023; FMF 06/09/2023

Taliban’s Rule in Afghanistan Sets Dangerous Precedent for Global Peace 

In a recent statement, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reiterated the U.S. position on the Taliban, emphasizing the focus on US “national security interests in preventing a resurgence of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, and if necessary, taking action to deal with it.” 

According to a recent report of the United Nations Security Council, however, the Taliban has not fulfilled its counterterrorism commitment under the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the United States of America and the Taliban. 

In fact, the same UN report stated that the link between the Taliban and both Al-Qaida and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) “remains strong and symbiotic.” The report highlighted that different terrorist groups have “greater freedom of maneuver under the Taliban de facto authorities.” 

The Taliban’s stance and support for other terrorist groups underscores the need to hold the group accountable for its own policies of terror in Afghanistan. The Taliban remains fully in control of Afghanistan and since its takeover in 2021 has reverted the country to its “exclusionary and autocratic policies of the Taliban administration of the late 1990s,” according to a UN report. 

While the Taliban may claim to fight against IS-K, the UN report warns that the threat of terrorism is “rising” in Afghanistan and the region, partly due to the Taliban allowing sanctuaries for certain terrorist groups. 

The Taliban regime is not recognized as the legitimate governing force of Afghanistan and it is crucial that the international community holds consensus on this. Until the Taliban ends gender apartheid and respects human rights, it continues to be an enemy of peace and equality in Afghanistan and around the world. 

Sources:

Ariana News 06/10/2023; UNSC Report 06/01/2023

UN Report: Acute Starvation Grips Afghanistan, Affecting Women and Children

Food insecurity, acute starvation, and hunger continue to plague numerous regions worldwide, with Afghanistan ranking among the most affected countries.  

U.N. agencies have sounded the alarm about the risk of starvation in eight nations, including Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, Haiti, Burkina Faso, and Mali. The World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) both call for attention to save lives from food insecurity. 

The FAO Director General, Qu Dongyu said, “immediate action” is needed “to pull people back from the brink of hunger, help them rebuild their lives and provide long-term solutions to address the root causes of food insecurities.” Executive director of the WFP, Cindy McCain added that there will be “catastrophic consequences” unless there is action “to help people adapt to a changing climate and ultimately prevent famine.” 

There are 15.3 million people living in acute food insecurity in Afghanistan in 2023, representing 35% of the population. Afghanistan is marked as a hotspot of highest concern for food insecurity in the FAO-WFP outlook report on hunger hotspots for June to November 2023. 

Afghanistan has experienced natural hazards in the past, such as droughts. It is currently facing below-average rainfall combined with above-average temperatures, leading to water scarcity for crop growth this season. 

The economic situation in Afghanistan has further deteriorated due to a reduction in foreign aid from humanitarian funding and from exports, caused by ongoing sanctions imposed by the donor governments on the Taliban.

The Taliban’s ban on female education, employment and participation in the humanitarian response poses a challenge to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and places more constraints on those most vulnerable: women and children. Approximately 3.2 million children and 804,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished, according to the FAO-WFP findings.

The Taliban’s seizure of power in 2021 triggered an economic collapse that led to inflation and mass unemployment. As a result, the number of child laborers increased dramatically. Around one million children work polishing shoes, washing cars, begging, or toiling in mines to provide for their families, since incomes have plummeted and “millions are on the brink of starvation.” 

Last month, for example, the UN found that 85% of Afghans were living below the poverty line, an increase of 15 million people since 2020. They polish shoes, wash cars, beg in the streets or work in mines. Female-led households that previously relied on cash and food assistance have lost those sources of livelihood since the ban on organizations by the Taliban in December. A survey by the REACH initiative found that the prevalence of child labor is higher in female-led households than male-led households.

Feminist Majority Foundation urges rapid humanitarian action to support the lives of Afghan women, children and families.

Sources:

UN; RFERL; UN-FAO; REACH; FMF

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