Kabul: The Education Cannate Waite (ECW), a UN fund that ensures that children can continue learning during emergencies and prolonged crises, has undertaken a campaign to voice support young Afghan girls who are deprived of their fundamental right to education.
The #Afghan Girl Voices campaign came into effect two years after Taliban authorities seized control of the country and will continue until September 18. The campaign will support young Afghan girls who are deprived of their fundamental right to education and learning.
The campaign has been implemented with the coming together of dignitaries such as ECW Global Champion Somaya Farooqui, UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, and ECW Executive Director Yasmin Sherif among others.
Undertaking the campaign includes a series of inspiring, painful and concrete testimonies from Afghan girls who were suddenly turned upside down by a ban preventing them from pursuing their education and dreams.
Their demand is conveyed with remarkable descriptions depicting both the deep frustration these girls experienced with their incredible resilience and strength through this unjust ban on their education.
The courage of these girls in Afghanistan gives me the strength to raise my own voice as an ECW Global Champion to amplify their voice to the world,” said Somaya Farooqui, ECW Global Champion.
The prohibition situation has an immense impact on the mental health of the girl and the suicide rate of girls has increased in the last two years. It is more urgent than ever to act now, and I hope next year, instead of recognising their oppression, we will celebrate the freedom of the girl child,” said Somaiya.
According to a recent report by UN experts, the condition of women and girls in Afghanistan is among the worst globally. The systematic curtailment of human rights by the groom, along with the deep bias they face in the administration of de facto Taliban officials, can potentially be referred to as “gender racism” and “gender harassment”, the report said.
The international community must listen to the grief and suffering of Afghan girls and young women and mobilise them in large numbers and with renewed energy of intent to condemn the violations of their rights, said Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy Level Steering Group.
Additionally, as world leaders gather at the UN General Assembly in New York for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) summit on September 18-19, the timing of the campaign will take the voice of Afghan girls to a global level.
“Anyone who is more backward than girls in Afghanistan will be denied their basic human rights, including the right to education based on their gender,” said ECW Executive Director Yasmin Sherif.
“We will continue to firmly advocate for the full resumption of their right to education in Afghanistan and work with our partners to deliver critical learning opportunities to Afghan children through community-based education programs that we support,” said Yasmin.