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UNICEF director visits girls school; says ‘education must be above politics’
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed concern about the continued closure of secondary and high schools for girls in Afghanistan, saying “education should not be held hostage to politics.”
On Saturday, Paloma Escudero, UNICEF’s Director of Global Support and Communications, visited a girls primary school in Kabul and said it has been more than a month since girls over the sixth grade in Afghanistan have been denied the right to education.
Escudero said that female students need help more than ever and called on the international community, especially donors, not to stop helping girls in this country.
According to her, the United Nations continues to assist in continuing the education of Afghan girls and emphasizes that education for girls is one of the priorities of the United Nations Children’s Fund in Afghanistan.
Escudero said the organization pays the salaries of about 200,000 teachers a month in Afghanistan and provides 35 million textbooks for Afghan girls.
“This is the time when girls need us the most. They go to school every day. They want to learn. They told me they wanted to be a doctor, an engineer and a teacher.”
Earlier, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that continuing to close girls’ schools would harm the whole of Afghanistan.
The US State Department has also said that political and economic progress cannot be made if half the population of a country is deprived of education.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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