No more school for girls
US cancels talks with Taliban
03/25/2022, 21:34
For the first time in seven months, girls in Afghanistan are allowed to go back to their schools, shortly afterwards they are sent home by the Taliban. There is no justification for this. Western states announce consequences. The US starts by canceling planned talks in Doha.
After the closure of secondary schools for girls in Afghanistan, the US canceled planned talks with the radical Islamist Taliban in Doha. “We have canceled some of our commitments, most notably scheduled meetings in Doha,” a US State Department spokesman said. “And we have made it clear that we see this decision as a potential turning point in our commitments,” he added. The talks were originally scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, which is taking place in the Qatari capital over the weekend.
The Islamists reversed this decision shortly after the official reopening of secondary schools for girls in Afghanistan on Wednesday. Thousands of schoolgirls were sent home after a few hours on their first day of classes since August.
Women’s right to education is one of the main conditions of the international community for aid to the unrecognized Taliban government. When the Islamists took power in August last year, they officially closed all schools because of the corona pandemic. Two months later, only boys and a few younger girls were allowed to resume classes.
Western states announce consequences
A group of Western countries had previously called on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools for girls. This is a necessary step “in order to become a respected member of the community of nations,” said the foreign ministers of Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Norway and the USA, as well as the EU foreign policy representative.
“The actions of the Taliban contradict their public assurances to the Afghan people and the international community,” criticized the representatives of the western states. The decision must urgently be reversed. The consequences went “far beyond the damage to Afghan girls.”
Foreign ministers are concerned
The foreign ministers of 17 countries, including Germany, also criticized the move in a joint statement: “As women and foreign ministers, we are deeply disappointed and concerned that girls in Afghanistan will be denied access to secondary schools this spring,” the politicians said. Among the signatories were the foreign ministry heads of Albania, Belgium, Malawi and Mongolia.
“We will judge them by their actions, not their words,” they said. The scope and extent of the commitment of the countries in Afghanistan beyond humanitarian aid will be “linked to results in this regard”. The declaration also referred to the importance of educated women for a society: “No country can afford not to use the potential and talents of all its citizens.”
The Taliban’s change of course caused a great deal of confusion, and the Islamists did not provide a conclusive explanation. As the AFP news agency learned from Taliban circles, the decision to close the schools was taken after a meeting of high-ranking officials in Kandahar.