Afghanistan Marks 5 Years Under Taliban Rule as 2.4 Million Girls Remain Barred From School
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 14
Afghanistan Marks 5 Years Under Taliban Rule as 2.4 Million Girls Remain Barred From School
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 14
Summary
Five years after the Taliban retook power on Aug. 15, 2021, Kabul residents told AP they value improved security but want the authorities to create jobs and reopen education for girls and women.
2.4 million girls are excluded from secondary education, UNESCO said this week, while girls above age 12 remain banned from school and women from universities despite earlier Taliban pledges.
The U.N. says reduced conflict has brought stability, but warns Afghanistan cannot achieve lasting recovery or wider international reintegration unless restrictions on women and girls are lifted and rights protected.
Taliban officials say they have delivered security, currency stability, infrastructure and jobs, reject U.N. terrorism concerns, and argue engagement with about 40 countries shows they merit formal recognition.
53% of primary school-age children are out of school, UNESCO says, and the World Food Program warns child malnutrition is at critical levels in a third of provinces as aid cuts deepen hardship.
Could the 2025 ICC arrest warrants finally fracture the Taliban's grip, or will they merely deepen the regime's dangerous isolation?
With Russia recognizing the regime, will geopolitical trade interests ultimately eclipse the global fight against Afghanistan's systemic gender apartheid?
Citizens report feeling safer, but at what hidden cost does this newfound street-level calm come for millions of erased women?