Daijiworld Media Network - Islamabad

Islamabad, Jan 11: In a significant turn of events, the Afghan Taliban government did not attend the global summit on girls' education in the Muslim world, held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday. Pakistan's education minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui confirmed that while no representative from the Afghan government participated, numerous organizations advocating for girls' education in Afghanistan were present.

The Taliban’s decision to bar female education beyond sixth grade, citing their interpretation of Sharia law, has led to a dire educational crisis for Afghan girls. A UN report revealed that 1.4 million girls have been deprived of schooling since the Taliban's takeover in 2021, with the figure increasing by 300,000 in 2023 alone.

Unesco has expressed concern over the sharp decline in education progress, warning that two decades of improvements have been ‘almost wiped out.’ The Taliban’s ban on female teachers and growing economic hardship are major factors contributing to the education crisis in Afghanistan, where 5.7 million children were enrolled in primary school by 2022, a significant drop from 6.8 million in 2019.

Meanwhile, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was herself a victim of Taliban violence, participated in the summit, continuing her fight for girls' education globally. Malala, who was targeted by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' education, used the platform to highlight the urgent need for action in Afghanistan.