NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council has expressed deep concern over a decision by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to deny girls access to high school education and called on the group to reopen schools for female students without delay.
“The members of the Security Council … reaffirmed the right to education for all Afghans, including girls,” a statement from the United Nations said. The Security Council asked Deborah Lyons, the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan, to engage with relevant Afghan authorities and stakeholders on the issue and report back on progress.
Last week, the Taliban backtracked on an announcement that high schools would open for girls, saying they would remain closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law for them to reopen. The United States abruptly cancelled meetings with the Taliban in Doha that were set to address key economic issues because of the decision.
Meanwhile, the Taliban have told airlines in Afghanistan that women cannot board domestic or international flights without a male guardian. The move comes after the Taliban backtracked on their previous commitment to open high schools to girls, a u-turn that shocked many Afghans and drew condemnation from humanitarian agencies and foreign governments.
The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice sent airlines a letter on Saturday informing of them of the new restrictions. Some women with tickets were reportedly turned away at Kabul’s airport on Saturday.
A Taliban administration spokesman had previously said that women travelling abroad for study should be accompanied by a male relative. However, the closure of high schools along with some restrictions on women in work and the requirement that women have a chaperone for long-distance travel has drawn criticism from many Afghan women and rights groups.
It was not immediately clear whether the restrictions on air travel would allow any exemptions, for example in emergencies or for women with no living male relatives in the country and whether it applied to foreigners or women with dual citizenship.
The international community has so far not officially recognised the Taliban administration and enforcement of sanctions has crippled the country’s banking sector which combined with slashed development funding has plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis.
