UN demands Afghanistan to lift "all bans on women", restore rights

Kabul [Afghanistan], November 14 : The United Nations has reiterated the urgent need to remove all restrictions on women in Afghanistan, citing a United Nations Development Programme report, Tolo News reported.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said that women's rights to work, freedom of movement, and access to education must be restored as part of ongoing humanitarian and reconstruction efforts.

"UNDP also reminds us of the critical need to lift all bans on women, including restoring women's ability to work and to move outside the home as part of humanitarian and recovery operations. Not to mention the right of girls to go to school," Dujarric stated.

According to Tolo News, Pakiza and Hediya are two sisters who, like many other girls, have been deprived of education. During this time, each has authored her own book.

What worries them more with each passing day is the uncertainty of their future.

Pakiza, a ninth-grade student, said she hoped her work would motivate others. "When I was banned from school, I thought about writing a book to inspire the boys who still attend school to show them that girls are capable in every way. Even though we're at home, we are active and trying hard," she told the outlet.

Hediya, a seventh-grade student, also voiced concern for the future. "When a woman is uneducated, she destroys a whole family. Her children will remain uneducated and illiterate. We call on our government to reopen the schools for us so we can progress," she said.

A women's rights activist, Tafsir Siyahpoush, highlighted broader challenges faced by Afghan women, adding that those returning to the country also need support. Tolo News reported her saying that women have been deprived of education for more than four years and remain excluded from work and public life.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has maintained that education is a domestic matter and urged foreign governments and institutions not to interfere in its internal affairs.

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