The United Nations has renewed its call for Afghanistan’s Taliban to immediately reopen schools to teenage girls, saying the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has no justification for denying the right to education on any grounds, including religion or tradition.

“The ongoing unlawful denial of girls and young women’s right to education in Afghanistan marks a global nadir in education, impacting an entire gender, a generation, and the future of the country,” a U.N. panel of experts said this week.

There is no indication the Taliban intend to lift the ban on female education as secondary schools across the South Asian nation reopen later this week after winter break, the statement read.

“Instead, it appears that for the second successive school year, teenage girls will be banned from resuming their studies,” the U.N. panel said, adding that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and young women are barred from receiving an education.

Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while launching the 2022 Human Rights Report on Monday, renewed Washington’s denunciation of curbs on Afghan women’s access to education and work, VOA reported.

Blinken said the IEA leadership “relentlessly discriminates and represses” Afghan women. He noted the authorities have so far issued 80 decrees that restrict women’s freedom of movement and the right to education and work.

“I’ll say very simply that we deplore the edicts,” Blinken told reporters.

He said the order banning Afghan female employees of nongovernmental organizations from workplaces “imperils” millions of Afghans who depend on humanitarian assistance for survival.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, visited Kamal Khan Dam in southern Nimroz province on Tuesday and emphasized the need to increase water storage capacity and cleaning up of the surrounding canals.

Baradar discussed solutions to the water issues faced by the people of Nimroz province, including the timely water supply to agricultural lands, his office said in a statement.

The Deputy PM and the accompanying delegation examined the installation of turbines at the dam and provided guidance to the officials on increasing the capacity of water storage, canal cleaning, and overall effective management.

He acknowledged the national importance of the Kamal Khan Dam and commended those responsible for the initiative.

The visit of the delegation to Kamal Khan Dam took place one day before the World Water Day.

Experts say the Islamic Emirate has great opportunities to manage the country’s waters in such a way that the people of Afghanistan benefit the most.

“On behalf of the private sector, we thank the dignitaries who visited the Kamal Khan dam. It is the responsibility of each of us to protect the national assets of our country in order to become self-sufficient like other countries,” said Mirwais Hajizada, an expert on economic affairs.

According to other experts, the country’s water management can get Afghanistan out of economic problems in a short time, and the government should focus on creating water dams.

“Afghanistan is a country that has a lot of agricultural land and relies mostly on agriculture. Therefore, for the lands that need water, if water management is done, it can make Afghanistan self-sufficient in terms of grains, and it can also become an exporting country,” said Kamaluddin Kakar, an economic expert.

Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) Minister of National Defense met on Wednesday with Abdulaziz Kamilov, the special representative of the President of Uzbekistan on foreign policy, Asmatullah Rahimov, to discuss a number of issues.

According to the defense ministry, border issues, security and other related matters were discussed and emphasis was placed on strengthening bilateral relations.

Also, Abdulaziz Kamelov, the special representative of Uzbekistan, assured the strengthening of relations with Afghanistan in the fields of security, economy, politics and other issues.