Afghanistan marks two years of women and girls being banned from schools: ‘Hopeless and broken’
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The UN General Assembly is set to hold key debates on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan this week, two years after they were stopped from receiving education in schools and universities. Regional expert Hassan Abbas says the Taliban’s perspective on girls’ education partly comes from a specific school of 19th century Islamic thought and partly from rural areas where tribalism is entrenched. This is eerily similar to the Taliban’s previous rule of Afghanistan in the late 1990s when girls and women were kept away from any form of education – a rule the group’s current rulers had earlier vowed to step away from. “In a strictly gender segregated society, how will Afghan women be able to get the most basic healthcare services if there are no female professionals to treat them?” UN data shows birth rates are higher among Afghan girls aged 15-19 who don’t have secondary or higher education.