Female ministers from 16 nations urge Taliban to reopen schools for Afghan girls

Two days after the Taliban administration announced that girls’ high schools in Afghanistan will be closed, female foreign ministers from 16 nations around the world called on the Taliban to reverse their decision, saying in a statement that they are “deeply disappointed.”

On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers backtracked on their promise to reopen schools to girls above the sixth grade. So far, they have refused to explain the sudden decision.

In a joint statement on Friday, the foreign ministers of Albania, Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Kosovo, Malawi, Mongolia, New Zealand, Sweden, Tonga and Britain said, “As women and as foreign ministers, we are deeply disappointed and concerned that girls in Afghanistan are being denied access to secondary schools this spring.”

They said the decision “is particularly disturbing as we repeatedly heard their commitments to open all schools for all children.”

“We call upon the Taliban to reverse their recent decision and to grant equal access to all levels of education, in all provinces of the country,” they added.

Taliban, which took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, is yet to win recognition from the world, as many are concerned that harsh measures and restrictions — particularly limiting women’s rights to education and work — will be imposed in the country.

The ministers said they “watch closely whether the Taliban deliver on their assurances.”

“We will measure them by their actions, not by their words. The scope and extent of our countries’ engagement in Afghanistan beyond humanitarian assistance will be tied to their achievements in this regard,” they said in the statement.

Also Read: UN chief deeply regrets Taliban’s decision suspending girls’ education

The United States has called on the group to revoke its decision.

US Special Representative Thomas West tweeted his “shock and deep disappointment” about the decision, calling it “a betrayal of public commitments to the Afghan people and the international community.”

“For the sake of the country’s future and its relations with the international community, I would urge the Taliban to live up to their commitments to their people,” he added.