UNICEF: The Future of Afghanistan Depends on Girls’ Education

Photo: X/UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has once again called for an end to the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan.

On Tuesday (23 September), UNICEF published a message from Sheema Sen Gupta, the agency’s Director of Child Protection, on the social media platform X, saying: “The future of Afghanistan depends on girls’ education.”

In this message, Gupta emphasized: “For four years Afghan girls have been deprived of the right to education. They have been deprived of their dreams and of their lives. Education is not only about learning, education is protection; it protects girls from child marriage, mental health issues, and a lifetime of deprivation.”

She added: “UNICEF believes every child is entitled to education. We call on the Taliban to open the doors of schools and allow girls to study, because the future of Afghanistan depends on girls’ education.”

This message comes as the Taliban, since their return to power in Afghanistan, have banned education for girls beyond grade six, an action that has deprived more than one and a half million girls of going to school.