The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has claimed that the Interim Government of Afghanistan may close the local classes of fast education for 500,000 girls and boys, which are financed by international donors.
UNICEF said that if non-governmental organizations active in the field of education in Afghanistan are prohibited, as a result, hundreds of thousands more Afghan girls and boys will be deprived of education.
UNICEF added: “As the leading education agency in Afghanistan, UNICEF is deeply concerned about reports that more than 500,000 children, 300,000 of whom are girls, may be deprived of education within a month.”
Heather Barr, Associate Director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, also expressed her concern that the restrictions imposed by the Interim Government in many areas, including women’s work, have affected the activities of the United Nations entities.
Bar added: “The United Nations is facing big problems in Afghanistan. By accepting the false demands of the Taliban, including the ban on UN female staff, UN has faced many problems in their programs. UN has nothing to gain by accepting unprincipled actions to please the Taliban.”
Meanwhile, Women’s rights activists warned that with such decision, not only the doors of education are closed to many girls and children, but also work opportunities are taken away from hundreds of people at once.
The Rapid Education Program is part of UNICEF’s educational programs, which provides education to girls and children in all remote areas of Afghanistan, whose education remains incomplete due to the lack of schools, wars and other reasons.
