Statement on the Ban on Girls’ Education Above Grade Three

August 8, 2023

As an organization that exists to make the right to learn a reality for Afghan women and girls, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan is appalled by and condemns in the strongest possible terms the steps taken yesterday by the Taliban to bar all girls beyond third grade from attending school. This decision extends the prohibition on girls and women’s education already in place since the regime took the country by force almost two years ago. In September 2021, girls were banned from attending secondary school, and in December 2022 higher education was closed to female students. Afghanistan continues to be the only country in the world with an official policy that prevents women and girls from accessing their human right to education. 

The right to education is not only a fundamental necessity for the functioning of any society, it is a human right enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Afghanistan is a signatory. We are deeply concerned that this latest step to deprive girls of their fundamental rights will further exacerbate the already spiraling levels of child exploitation and gender based violence caused by the Taliban’s oppressive denial of women’s rights and freedoms. Afghanistan has already seen an increase in child marriage and according to the UN, a staggering 95% of the population is not getting enough to eat, as women including female breadwinners are barred from work and virtually all other aspects of public life. This latest restriction will also have further negative impacts on the country’s literacy rate – already one of the lowest in the world – and worsen poverty, food insecurity and the health status of all of the population, given the well established correlation between girls’ and women’s education rates and nearly all other human development indicators. 

CW4WAfghan remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring Afghan women and girls, regardless of their circumstances, are able to access quality and inclusive education that will put them on a pathway to hope and allow them to realize their full potential. We urge Canada and the international community to hold the Taliban accountable for the devastating social and economic consequences of this imposed system of gender apartheid. We also urge states to increase their support for alternative pathways to education, including digital learning and safe passage out of the country for the Afghans who are denied this human right.