Joe Biden oversaw a botched Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021, which left 13 service members dead and thousands left behind to fend for thems...
Joe Biden oversaw a botched Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021, which left 13 service members dead and thousands left behind to fend for themselves against the Taliban.
Biden said he has “no apologies” for what he did in regards to his decision to withdraw without leaving some troops on the ground, and the women and girls of Afghanistan continue to pay the price.
In September 2021, a month after Biden’s withdrawal, the Taliban announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade.
In December 2022, the Biden-emboldened Taliban banned university education for women nationwide.
They followed the educational ban by ordering all national and international NGOs to no longer employ women.
Last week, an official in the Education Ministry said Afghan girls of all ages are allowed to study in religious schools or madrasas.
The Afghanistan Times reports:
UN special envoy Roza Otunbayeva has expressed deep concern over the alarming educational setback for a generation of Afghan girls. The Taliban’s defiance of international criticism and their persistence in enforcing restrictive measures raise fears of a significant setback in the progress made in women’s education.
Recent reports from the Education Ministry suggest that Afghan girls are allowed to attend religious schools, traditionally reserved for boys and known as madrassas. However, uncertainties persist regarding the presence of a standardized curriculum that includes modern subjects.
Analyst Muhammad Saleem Paigir has warned of the disastrous consequences of excluding women and girls from education, emphasizing the link between literacy and freedom. “We understand that illiterate people can never be free and prosperous,” he remarked, highlighting the importance of education in fostering a thriving society.
Ali Maisam Nazary, the Head of Foreign Relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, shared a warning about the dangers of radical training centers pretending to be educational facilities.
“It is essential for Ms. Roza Otunbayeva (@otunbayeva) and others to recognize that the radical jihadi madrasas proliferating in Taliban-occupied Afghanistan are not viable alternatives to modern education for either boys or girls. These radical institutions, operating without any oversight from @UNAMAnews or similar entities, function as indoctrination and training centers for the Taliban and its allied terror networks than as educational facilities.”
“The increase in these radical madrasas across every district in Afghanistan is not a development that should inspire hope. Instead, it should set off alarm bells globally. The hundreds of thousands of youth being educated in these radical madrasas are at risk of becoming the next generation of terrorists, potentially filling the ranks of global and regional terrorist groups in the years ahead. This alarming trend poses a direct threat to the security and interests of countries worldwide. It is a stark reminder that policies of appeasement and misplaced optimism regarding the Taliban’s intentions can have dire consequences for future generations in Afghanistan and beyond. We must remain vigilant and committed to promoting a genuinely democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan, where boys and girls, men and women of all communities enjoy equal rights and opportunities.”
It is essential for Ms. Roza Otunbayeva (@otunbayeva) and others to recognize that the radical jihadi madrasas proliferating in Taliban-occupied Afghanistan are not viable alternatives to modern education for either boys or girls. These radical institutions, operating without any…
— Ali Maisam Nazary (@alinazary) December 24, 2023
The BBC interviewed young women in the months following the ban.
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