Sun Amaya
(CNN Spanish) – The advance of the Taliban in Afghanistan generates concern in the international community. Although the crisis affects the entire population of the country, there is a group that is especially vulnerable to the conflict: children.
Conflict, malnutrition, violence and sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, child marriage, recruitment, among others, are some of the risks faced by the children of Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan has been, for many years, one of the worst places in the world to be a child. But in recent weeks, the situation for many children has become even more desperate, “said United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef, for its acronym in English) in a statement released Monday.
The figures support this concern. According to UNICEF, since the beginning of the year, “more than 552 children have died and more than 1,400 have been injured” in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, “half of the population, more than 18 million people – including almost 10 million children – need humanitarian aid.”
The concern of UNICEF and other international organizations has grown over the increase in serious violations of children’s rights, especially their recruitment by armed groups.
“It is urgent that all parties take the necessary actions to minimize the harm to children and prioritize their protection in the conduct of hostilities, as well as protect schools and hospitals,” said Virginia Gamba, special representative of the Secretary General of the UN for Children and Armed Conflict, in a statement.
According to the latest UN report on children and armed conflict, 5,770 young Afghans were killed or maimed between January 2019 and December 2020.
Furthermore, the UN estimates that “1 million children under the age of 5 will be severely malnourished by the end of 2021 and 3 million will suffer from moderate / acute malnutrition.”
Taliban Says No Violence Against Women 0:55
Violence, the lack of access to education and the situation of girls is another source of concern regarding the Taliban advance in the region.
Afghan girls could be forced to marry very young, they could be victims of honor killings, abuse, sexual violence, among others.
“Afghan children suffer many of the same risks, along with military recruitment in armed conflict and sexual exploitation,” says UNICEF.
The education of boys and girls
One of the first uncertainties that arose when the Taliban took power in Afghanistan was the educational issue.
While the Taliban assure that they will guarantee the rights that Islam has granted to women in the country, including access to education, a video published by CNN shows that some girls in a local mosque no longer learn science or math. They only study the Qur’an.
This is the education of these girls in Afghanistan 2:07
“Afghanistan’s education system has been devastated by more than three decades of sustained conflict,” explains Unicef on its website. “For many of the country’s children, completing primary school remains a distant dream, especially in rural areas and for girls, despite recent progress in increasing enrollment.”
According to data from the agency, some 3.7 million children do not attend school in Afghanistan. And 60% of them are girls.
“Only 16% of schools in Afghanistan are exclusively for girls and many of them lack adequate sanitation facilities,” says UNICEF.
This makes it more difficult for minors to attend school.
In addition, “certain sociocultural factors and traditional beliefs also undermine the education of girls”.
An example: while child marriages are illegal in Afghanistan, 17% of girls marry before their 15th birthday, according to Unicef.
With all the obstacles, the boys and girls who do manage to access school tend to receive a lower quality education. This is because “only 48 percent of their teachers have the minimum academic qualifications (equivalent to an associate degree),” according to data from Unicef.
Recruitment and violence
Another of the sufferings of children in Afghanistan is the armed conflict. Factors such as internal displacement, forced migration and others also put them at risk from armed groups.
On this point, Unicef points out that the recruitment of children “is often hidden by inadequate age verification procedures.”
To mitigate this situation, the agency has for years supported the establishment of child protection centers in police departments and recruitment offices.
With the recent Taliban advance, the UN also made a special call to protect children from these situations. “Today, I call on all parties, especially the Taliban, to prevent the recruitment and use, kidnapping, killing and maiming of children, end all violations, and urgently take concrete steps to protect children. children, schools and hospitals, and mitigate the situation of children. victims, ”said Gamba.
In addition, he called for Afghanistan to maintain the criminalization of the practice of bacha bazi, a form of sexual abuse against children, in line with the penal code revisions in 2018, according to a UN statement.
The danger of displacement
The Afghan crisis, now aggravated by the Taliban advance, has produced a growing displacement of families, both within Afghanistan and to other countries. This also poses a special risk to children.
About 80% of the nearly a quarter of a million Afghans who were forced to flee since the end of May 2021 are women and children, according to UNHCR data.
The organization highlights that Afghans have been experiencing a displacement crisis for four decades. Meanwhile, more than 550,000 Afghans have been internally displaced since early 2021. Meanwhile, a total of 72,375 Afghan refugees are housed in Afghanistan and some 2,215,445 refugees are in Iran and Pakistan, according to UNHCR.
Where do the people who manage to flee Afghanistan go?
“Children between 12 and 17 years old, but sometimes even 10 years old, are among the most vulnerable people in the world,” says Unicef on this point. “Some will seek employment in Iran as undocumented workers; others are immigrants who undertake the risky trip to Turkey or Europe, ”says the agency.
Some will be forced to return, and that is also dangerous, as they are often separated from their families in the process, adds Unicef. And he highlights: “Alone and in limbo, they are an easy target for smugglers and human traffickers.”
The-CNN-Wire
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