Somaya, activist and former captain of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, speaking at the Transforming Education Summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA, September 19, 2022 Mr. Faruqi.Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid/File Photo

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A team of Afghan women’s robots after calling on world leaders at the United Nations to defend Afghan women’s education and rights, a year after the Taliban took power Somaya Falki, the former captain of the club, broke down. She cries backstage.

“Last year I was in the classroom, but this year the girls are not in the classroom. The classroom is empty and they are at home. It’s been too long,” Faruqi, 20, told Reuters.

Falki, who now attends the Missouri University of Science and Technology, left Afghanistan last August when the Islamist Taliban seized power after two decades of war and the United States and its allies withdrew their troops.

Addressing the United Nations in New York this week, when world leaders meet at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, she urged them to unite to demand girls’ schools reopen and protect their rights.

“You are here this week to offer solutions to transform education for all, but we must not forget them. [are] Those left behind are those who were unlucky enough to not go to school,” Falki said.

“Show solidarity with me and the millions of Afghan girls.”

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has reprimanded her leaders for inaction after being shot by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan while graduating from school in 2012.

“Most of you know exactly what you need to do. You shouldn’t make small, stingy, short-term commitments, but you should be entitled to complete your education and fully fill the funding gap. We have to commit to backing,” Yousafzai said Monday.Last year, she appealed to the world not to compromise on protecting women’s rights in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover.Read more

“Release all restrictions”

The Taliban say women should not leave home without male relatives and should cover their faces, but some women in urban areas ignore the rule.

In March, the Taliban turned back on promises to open a girls’ high school. Tightening regulations and Afghanistan’s economic crisis have prevented most of her teenage girls from attending classes now, pushing thousands of women out of the workforce, according to international development agencies.

The Taliban say they respect women’s rights according to their interpretation of Islamic law and have been working to open a girls’ high school since March.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the Taliban to “immediately lift all restrictions on girls’ access to secondary education” at Monday’s Transformation Education Summit.

“Girls’ education is one of the most important steps towards achieving peace, security and sustainable development everywhere,” said Guterres.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken launched the Alliance for Economic Resilience of Afghan Women on Tuesday. This is a partnership between the State Department and Boston University aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and educational opportunities and expanding workplace opportunities for Afghan women, both in Afghanistan and elsewhere. is.

“Women should have equal rights in all aspects of life, wherever they live,” said Blinken.

“This will be a no-brainer for everyone on this planet in 2022. But of course it is not. We have to fight for it. We have to fight for it,” Brinken added.

Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for women, girls and human rights in Afghanistan, said the initiative faces many challenges. Instability, insecurity and economic turmoil will hamper attempts to help women re-enter Afghan society.

“What we want to show is that we are resilient,” she said.

Fereshteh Forough, CEO of Code to Inspire, Afghanistan’s first programming school for women and girls, said at an Alliance event that schools had to close and move to online learning after the Taliban took over. said.

Through tears, she said 80 percent of students had returned to school remotely and, as of Monday, the school had conditionally obtained permission from the Taliban to reopen.

“We were able to get 300 girls to pass the entrance exams and come to our graphic design school.This year has been incredible,” she said through tears.

“The text messages I received from the girls were heartbreaking.”

Reported by Daphne Psaredakis, Humeira Pamuk and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations.Edited by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool

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