The Taliban banned secondary education (middle and high school) for girls
On Tuesday, the United States announced new sanctions against the Taliban in retaliation for the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.
“Today I am announcing visa restrictions … to current and former members of the Taliban and other individuals held responsible or complicit in the repression of women and girls in Afghanistan through restrictive policies and violence,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. note on the 10th anniversary of International Girl’s Day.
According to Mr. Blinken, Afghanistan remains “for one year the only country in the world where girls are systematically forbidden to go to school beyond the sixth grade, without a return date being foreseen”.
Girls’ education is an extremely sensitive issue in Afghanistan, a country with a Sunni majority. The Taliban, who regained power in August 2021 after the withdrawal of the Americans, banned secondary education (middle and high school) for girls. Female students, on the other hand, are admitted to the university.
A recent suicide attack at a student training center in Kabul killed 53 people, including at least 46 girls and young women, according to a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Manua).
