FOREIGN Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah and Middle East special envoy Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang must take a firm stand on girls’ education and urge the Taliban Government to let the girls return to school, said Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching.
She said that Saifuddin and Abdul Hadi would be sending the wrong message about girls’ and women’s education in Malaysia should they turn a blind eye to the plight of girls in Afghanistan.
“We are disheartened to learn that the Taliban administration in Afghanistan has announced that girls’ high schools will be closed just hours after they reopened for the first time in nearly seven months,” Teo said in a statement today (March 25).
“The backtracking by the Taliban means that female students above the sixth grade will not be able to attend school, and the school for girls would be closed until a plan is drawn up in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture.”
A Ministry of Education notice said on Wednesday (March 23) that all girls high schools and those schools that have female students above the sixth grade are off until the next order.
Taliban spokesperson Inamullah Samangani also confirmed reports that girls had been ordered home to news agency AFP.
He would not immediately explain the reasoning, while education ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmad Rayan said: “We are not allowed to comment on this.”
According to Teo, the last time the Taliban had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban Government had banned female education and most female employments and this long-standing problem has already done enough damage to the lives of girls and women in the country.
“Just a month ago in February 2022, Abdul Hadi met Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan permanent representative of the United Nations Sheikh Mohammed Suhail Shaheen in Qatar and in that meeting, Malaysia pledged to help Afghanistan with humanitarian and economic assistance including aid to redevelop the country,” she pointed out.
Teo went on to note that Malaysian humanitarian aid non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had already been in Kabul and other provinces in Afghanistan since the US and its allies had withdrawn their forces from the country on Aug 31 last year.
“Malaysia has also been actively encouraging the Malaysian private sector to explore investment and trade opportunities in Afghanistan,” she commented.
“Therefore Saifuddin and Abdul Hadi must take a firm stand on girls’ education and urge the Taliban Government to let the girls return to school.
“If they turn a blind eye to the plight of girls in Afghanistan, they would also be effectively sending the wrong message about girls and women education in Malaysia.” – March 25, 2022
Photo credit: Al Jazeera
