Standing for 2.2 Million Girls
In a statement sent to IntelMedium, the Civil Society and Journalists Support Organization announced the launch of a civil protest movement to support girls’ right to education, organized ahead of the new academic year.
In this protest, held in front of the closed doors of one of the schools in Kabul, the organization’s members symbolically displayed the deprivation and imposed silence on girls by tying their hands and mouths.
In the official statement of the organization, it is stated: “We stand for the 2.2 million girls whose school and university doors are closed. Start the new academic year with hope, resilience, and commitment to education. The opening of school gates heralds a bright future for our society.”
The organization referred to girls as “pioneers of change and justice,” emphasizing that no obstacle can stand against their determined will. It also stated that education is the fundamental right of every woman and girl in Afghanistan, and the organization will remain alongside them in achieving this right.
Since the return of the Taliban in August 2021, severe educational restrictions have been imposed on girls and women in Afghanistan. In September of that year, girls above the sixth grade were banned from attending school, and later, university doors were also closed to women.
These decisions sparked widespread domestic and international reactions, making Afghanistan the only country where women are deprived of secondary and higher education.
Over two years later, millions of girls are still deprived of their basic right to education, and civil protests, such as the one organized by the Civil Society and Journalists Support Organization, continue to highlight this humanitarian crisis.