Roza Otunbayeva: Four Years of Closed Girls’ Schools Have Put a Generation at Risk of Destruction

Image source: UNAMA

Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, warned in a UN Security Council meeting that the Taliban’s policies against women and girls have placed the country in the face of “the greatest social and economic crisis.”

On Wednesday (September 17), in this meeting, she referred to the four years of closed school doors to girls above grade six and said: “A generation is at risk of destruction; a generation that will carry a long-term cost for the country and has created great concern and despair in Afghan society.”

According to her, this deprivation has not only deprived millions of Afghan girls of the right to education and their future, but also causes more than 1.4 billion dollars in losses to Afghanistan’s economy annually.

The senior UN official emphasized that the majority of Afghan people are also opposed to the ban on girls’ education. Based on a recent UN Women survey, more than 80 percent of Afghans want girls’ schools to reopen.

Otunbayeva added that the Taliban’s policies against women, including the ban on higher education and the prohibition of women working in aid organizations and even the United Nations, have paralyzed the international community’s ability to help the people of Afghanistan.

She added: “Recently, Taliban Ministry of Defense forces prevented Afghan female employees from entering UN offices. Also, Taliban Ministry of Interior personnel blocked access of female employees to UN field offices in various provinces. These restrictions have disrupted the UN’s ability to assist the people of Afghanistan at a moment when they need help more than ever.”

This comes while the international community has repeatedly described these policies as “gender apartheid” and demanded their immediate removal. Despite this, the Taliban continue to insist on the restrictions.