The US confirmed on Friday that it has cancelled talks with the Talibanover the hardline groups’ decision to cancel secondary education for Afghangirls.
State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters that theTaliban’s decision is a “potential turning point in our engagement” withAfghanistan’s de facto rulers.
“For the sake of Afghanistan’s future, and the Taliban’s relations with theinternational community, we urge the Taliban to live up to theircommitments and to their people,” she said on a conference call.
“We also stand with Afghan girls and their families who see education as apath to realizing their full potential,” she added.
The diplomatic row comes after Afghanistan’s educational institutionsre-opened Wednesday with girls who were to begin education beyond the sixthgrade told by the Taliban to remain home.
The Taliban returned to power after 20 years of war, ultimately ousting byforce the internationally-recognized government as NATO-led forces thatsupported it withdrew.
The decision to curtail girls’ education comes a little more than one weekbefore a major international donor conference, which the UN had hoped wouldlead to hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid being pledged.
Read Top Stories
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the Taliban’s decision,saying it is “deeply damaging” for the war-torn nation.
“The de facto authorities’ failure to reopen schools for girls above thesixth grade, despite repeated commitments, is a profound disappointment anddeeply damaging for Afghanistan,” Guterres said.
“The denial of education not only violates the equal rights of women andgirls to education, it also jeopardizes the country’s future in view of thetremendous contributions by Afghan women and girls,” he added.
Source:link
