New York, March 25 || The United Nations Women on Tuesday warned that it will have generational consequences in Afghanistan as girls are denied education for the third year in a row.
The reaction comes as the new academic year begins in Afghanistan, with secondary and higher education institutions still closed to women for yet another year under the Taliban.
Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, stated that Afghan girls must return to school with the start of the new school year, and depriving them of access to education is a clear violation of their rights.
"As a new school year begins in Afghanistan, the doors remain shut to thousands of girls -- for the third year in a row. This violation of their right to education will haunt generations. Girls must return to school. Their fundamental rights must be restored -- without delay," Bahous posted on X.
According to a UN Women report, since August 2021, the Taliban have systematically dismantled women and girls' access to education in Afghanistan, enforcing increasingly dire restrictions. Girls were first banned from secondary schools in March 2022, followed by a suspension from universities in December of the same year.