MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2022) A group of Afghan women held an indoor protest against the decision of the ruling political movement of Afghanistan, the Taliban (under UN sanctions over terrorist activities), to hold high school graduation exams for girls despite the fact that they have been banned from classrooms since last year.
In August 2021, the Taliban took over Afghanistan. The movement promised that women's rights would not be infringed, but forbade high school female students from attending classes and introduced other restrictions on women. At the end of November 2022, the Taliban decided to allow girls to take their final exams.
Several Afghan women sent photos to local media on Tuesday evening, where they hold banners in protest at the Taliban's decision. The protesters emphasized that girls need education, but the government's approach "does not cure the pain of illiteracy and its negative consequences for the society," adding that issuing graduation certificates after a missed school year is "an insult to society."
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in September once again urged the authorities to allow girls to continue their education and expressed concerns that the ban could facilitate further deterioration of the crisis in the country, including the security and poverty situation.
According to a UNICEF report released in August, the fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the country's economy at least $500 million over the past 12 months, amounting to 2.5% of GDP. If three million girls had been able to finish their education and enter the work force, they would have contributed at least $5.4 billion to Afghanistan's economy, the report added.
