Plan International statement on girls being barred from Schools in Afghanistan

The following statement can be attributed to Plan International:

“As schools reopen in Afghanistan, Plan International is disturbed by the news that many girls are not being allowed to return to secondary school.

Protecting and advancing the right of girls to go to school is essential and we call on all actors to ensure that every girl in Afghanistan, especially adolescent girls can attend school.

For girls who have experienced a lifetime of conflict and upheaval, school provides a protective space and a sense of normality. Education provides a passport for a positive future, take it away from girls and you shatter their hopes and aspirations.

Unless all Afghan children, girls and boys, return to school then the progress in education that we have witnessed over the past two decades will be wiped out.

We cannot let another generation lose their right to learn and the opportunity to develop the skills they need to fulfil their potential and to contribute to society.

This latest development comes in the context of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation where over a million children are now at risk of starvation and where nearly ten million girls and boys depend on humanitarian assistance.”