Khalilzad Calls on Taliban to Answer for Impact of Bans on Women’s Education and Work
Tawazon – Former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has called on Taliban leaders to respond “factually and substantively” to the consequences of banning women’s education and employment, citing a recent report by UNICEF.
In a post on X on Thursday, he questioned whether Taliban leaders understand the impact of their policies, asking: “Are they aware of these looming consequences? What provisions are they making to address this self-inflicted problem? If none, what do they imagine will happen to Afghan society?”
According to UNICEF, if restrictions on girl’s education and women’s employment continue, Afghanistan could lose 20,000 trained female teachers and 5400 skilled female health workers by 2030.
The report also warns that the number of girls deprived of education could rise to two million.
Since returning to power, the Taliban have banned girls from attending school beyond sixth grade. They later extended these restrictions by closing universities and medical institutes to female female students.
The group has also barred women from working in government offices, NGOs, international organizations and UN agencies,while imposing wide ranging limits on their presence in public life.