Vienna Meeting Addresses Long-Term Impact of Afghanistan’s Ban on Girls’ Education
The Embassy and Permanent Mission of Afghanistan in Vienna, in cooperation with Finland, have organized a meeting to discuss the long-term effects of the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan. The session was chaired by Manizha Bakhtari, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Austria, and held within the framework of the Asian Partners Group for Cooperation.
The program featured Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and Mira Mehran, a women’s rights activist. Participants emphasized the extensive consequences of depriving Afghan girls and women of education.
It was stressed during the meeting that the systematic exclusion of girls and women from the educational system is not only a serious human rights violation but also a structural challenge threatening Afghanistan’s regional stability, development, and security in the long term. Attendees believe that the continuation of this situation could deepen social and economic divides.
Manizha Bakhtari underscored that Afghanistan can only achieve sustainable stability and prosperity when all citizens, especially women and girls, have access to education. Meanwhile, the Taliban administration’s ongoing educational restrictions have deprived millions of girls of secondary and higher education, drawing widespread domestic and international criticism.
