Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday confirmed that 75 percent of the girls in the country, after a hiatus following the takeover of Kabul, had returned to schools.
He was responding to a question regarding the situation of education rights of girls in Afghanistan, at his public talk organized by the Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) here at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI).
The Taliban after taking control of the country in August had closed the schools with millions of girl students confined to their homes, which had attracted criticism by the international community.
However, the Acting Afghan FM stated that 75 percent of girls had resumed their education after returning to school.
Read more: Girls excluded from attending secondary schools in Afghanistan
He pointed out that it was “contradictory” of the international community to emphasize women’s education, but have little focus on the salary of teachers, as the disbursement was getting difficult due to the freezing of the country’s assets.
He mentioned the negative campaign in foreign media against the interim government of Afghanistan, terming it contrary to the facts.
In this regard, he mentioned that the 500,000 civil servants were now being paid and not a single person was fired on the basis of political views. Also, no woman was removed from her job or salary cut.
He said Afghanistan had around 3,000 clinics and hospitals, which were still operational.
The teachers at this refugee school in Balochistan, Pakistan, hope that a new generation of Afghan girls will be able to reach higher levels of education. 👩🎓
~ Education is the right of all children. #EducationCannotWait pic.twitter.com/0JROGN43XS
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) November 12, 2021
No rationale behind pressure tactics
Muttaqi said there was no rationale behind the sanctions imposed by the “international human rights champions” on Afghanistan by freezing the assets.
He said the reforms, which the international community wanted the interim government to work towards, could be done “peacefully, and not through pressure tactics”.
He said the current cabinet with all ethnicities already fulfilled the requirement of the international community for an inclusive government.
“We are being punished for something which is a possibility in the future,” he said.
Read more: Freezing Afghan assets worsening humanitarian crisis: Deborah Lyons
Muttaqi said his government wanted Afghanistan to be no more a conflict ground for major powers.
Afghanistan, he said, for the first time in 43 years had a central, responsible, and sovereign government which had control on every inch of the territory.
“We, in Afghanistan have a historic opportunity to create a win-win situation for everyone. The new developments have opened new opportunities for stability,” he said.
Courtesy: APP