Afghanistan: Campaign launched to reopen schools, universities for girls

Kabul : University professors, women's rights activists and religious clerics in Afghanistan have launched a campaign -- 'Education of Afghan Girls', with the goal of opening schools and universities for girls in the country, TOLO News reported.

TOLO News is an Afghan news channel based out of Kabul. According to the campaign's organizers, despite their requests to reopen the nation's schools and universities in the past two years, no action has been taken.

They said that they would keep campaigning until girls were allowed to attend schools and universities.

Fazl Hadi Wazeen, a cleric, said, "The campaign for girls' education in Afghanistan has been launched as a national initiative, and this campaign will continue until the doors of schools and universities are opened for girls."

"This campaign's goal is to ensure the rights of students above the sixth grade and female students in public and private universities," Abeda Majidi, a university lecturer, said.

Some girls, meanwhile, said they have been faced with an uncertain future after the closure of schools for girls above sixth grade in the country.

"If we don't study, it is clear that in the future there will be neither good doctors nor good teachers in our country," Setara, a student, said.

"We ask the Taliban to open the doors of the schools for us. We want to study and serve our country," Ghazal, another student, told TOLO News.

The country's schools for girls above the sixth grade have been closed for more than 650 days.

Even as the closure of schools for girls drew outrage both within the country and beyond, there has yet been no word from the Taliban regime on the reopening of educational institutions for girls.