Two Years On: Afghan Girls' Call for their Right to Education Rings Out Louder Than Ever

Education Cannot Wait's new #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign brings voices of Afghan girls targeted by the de facto Taliban authorities' ban on girls' education to the global stage – on two-year Afghanistan takeover anniversary

NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Two years after the de facto authorities took power in Afghanistan and banned girls' access to secondary education, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) – the UN global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises – launches the #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign.

Education Cannot Wait’s new #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign features testimonies from Afghan girls whose lives have been abruptly upended by the ban imposed on their education. ©ECW

The one-month campaign, developed with ECW Global Champion Somaya Faruqi, former Captain of the Afghan Girls' Robotic Team, features testimonies from Afghan girls whose lives have been abruptly upended by the ban, conveyed with striking illustrations by an anonymous Afghan female artist.

"The courage of girls in Afghanistan gives me the strength to use my own voice to amplify their voices to the world. It's more urgent than ever to act now, and I hope that next year, we celebrate their freedom rather than mark their oppression," said Faruqi.      

According to a recent UN experts' report, the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan is the 'worst globally' and the systematic restrictions of their human rights and severe discrimination they experience under the de facto Taliban authorities' regime could amount to "gender apartheid" and "gender persecution".

"The international community must hear this call from Afghan girls and mobilise with renewed strength of purpose to condemn the violation of their rights. Applicable international legal frameworks should be used to pursue legal action. The international community should also immediately expand support to online and radio courses, as well as increase funding resources for ECW and its partners to step up educational opportunities for Afghan girls inside and outside the country," said UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of ECW's High-Level Steering Group, The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown.

"ECW is firmly committed to lifting and empowering the voices of Afghan girls. We will continue to steadfastly advocate for the full resumption of their right to education, and to work with our partners to deliver crucial learning opportunities to Afghan children through the community-based education programmes we support," said ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif.       

Access the #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign social media kit here.

For information: www.educationcannotwait.org