We Stand with the Girls and Women of Afghanistan

Ahead of the 3-year anniversary of ban on girls’ secondary education in Afghanistan.

NEW YORK, Sep 17 2024 (IPS) – Today, we stand with solemn hearts as the world marks this week the three-year ban on girls’ secondary education in Afghanistan.

Today and every day, we must stand up for the millions of Afghan girls and women living under the yoke of gender-apartheid: systematized and institutionalized oppression, exclusion, and marginalization based exclusively on their gender. However, standing in solemnity for their suffering is not enough. We must act to remove the oppression and injustice. Against all odds, we must continue to deliver results to provide the girls access to an education well beyond grade sixth.

As a staunch champion for girls’ human rights, not the least the most foundational right – their right to an inclusive and continued quality education – Education Cannot Wait and our strategic partners call out to the world through our #AfghanGirlsVoices advocacy campaign. Together and collectively, we have brought together artwork and calls to action by global leaders, and conveyed the inspiring stories of hope, courage and resilience straight from Afghan girls and young women refusing to succumb to oppression and refusing to give up on their right to an education.

The quotes from Afghan girls are heart-breaking, poetic and passionate. Some resound with hope: “Every beat of my heart resounds with a rhythm of hope, pushing me forward in my quest of education despite all odds.” Others chart the abuse and fear that millions of girls face on a daily basis: “At just 14 years old, I became a bride, when I should have been in the ninth-grade learning and playing with my friends. Instead of holding a pencil, I held the weight of a marriage I never wanted.” Others are defiant: “In the face of adversity, my dreams become my armour, shielding me from doubt and empowering me to forge ahead towards knowledge.”

Celebrities, world leaders and passionate influencers continue to promote the #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign.

“The world must unite behind Afghan girls. Denying their right to education is a violation of the UN Charter, Convention on the Rights of the Child and basic human rights. Through the #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign, people everywhere can stand up for human rights and gender-justice by sharing their words of courage, hope and resilience,” said The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of ECW’s High-Level Steering Group.

As Khaled Hosseini, best-selling author of The Kite Runner, puts it: “Today, some three years after Afghan girls were banned from secondary education, 80% of school-aged Afghan girls and woman are out of school. Many are forced into unwanted marriage. This is a catastrophe, because denying Afghan girls access to school not only violates their human right to education and jeopardizes their future, it jeopardizes the future of the homeland as well.”

The pursuit of knowledge is a key tenant of Islam, and a key component in delivering on our universal promises of peace, equality and human rights. Education for all of Afghanistan’s daughters is essential to rebuilding this long-suffering nation.

Today, we ask world leaders everywhere to join ECW and our global strategic partners in calling for an end to the ban on education and to take action. We call on you to fund the ongoing education initiatives at the local level defying this illegal and irrational ban. Second, we call on you to resolve the catastrophe for the girls of Afghanistan stemming from ignorance rather than enlightenment. Afghanistan deserves better and it is urgent.

Yasmine Sherif is Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait