Participants in the Doha Forum demand measures to return Afghan girls to education Policy

Doha- A number of officials and experts attributed the decision Taliban In Afghanistan, girls were prevented from completing education, beyond the sixth grade, for political reasons, rather than any religious reasons, explaining that the Islamic religion encouraged the obligation of learning, and did not deny women the freedom of education.

During the first day’s work For the Doha Forum, Experts pointed out that the Taliban is afraid of involving women in political work, and that there are deficiencies that must be resolved in the relationship between men and women in AfghanistanThe most important of which is the necessity of dialogue with the country’s government leaders and men in general, and convincing them that women’s education is not an obstacle to the country’s development, and that it is a participatory and cooperative relationship between the two parties, calling for the importance of dialogue with the Taliban, which has the solutions to this problem.

In the session “Education for Her: Progress for All, Rebuilding Education for Women in Afghanistan,” the experts explained that work must be done to open spaces for girls in Afghanistan to obtain education, stressing that it is an obligation on them and not just a right. Afghan society must also be helped to open up and keep pace with modern developments. This will only happen if women, who represent half of society, obtain education.

They confirmed – in statements to Al Jazeera Net – that there are a number of solutions that are currently being implemented, including electronic platforms or virtual schools, as well as relying on education in mosques to confront the decision to prevent girls from continuing their education.

Deprivation of education and work

In this context, Rina Amiri, the Special Envoy for Afghan Women and Girls Affairs and Human Rights at the US State Department, said that the situation in Afghanistan after two years of Taliban rule again is not better, explaining that the light must be shed on how to manage the conflict in the country first, and then look for an opening. New education opportunities.

She added – in her speech to Al Jazeera Net – that more than 3 million girls of school age after the primary stage did not have the opportunity to learn, but looking at the situation in general, it can be asserted that almost half of society, namely women, are “deprived of opportunities to learn, work, and participate in work.” “Political.”

Regarding future plans to deal with the current situation, Amiri said that there are a number of solutions that are being focused on, including creating a special platform for Afghan women to be a source of learning and working virtually.

The American official added that there are already channels of communication with the Taliban, “and we conveyed to them a clear and frank message that there will be no normalization of relations or a return to normal relations, unless there are developments on the ground in many matters, most notably women’s education, work, and participation in political life.”

Between religion and politics

For her part, the former Minister of Education of Afghanistan, Rangina Hammadi, said that the situation in the country has changed a lot in recent years and girls have lost not only their opportunity to learn, but perhaps their opportunity for freedom and life, explaining that the Taliban has narrowed opportunities for women who are no longer able to chart their future.

She considered – in exclusive statements to Al Jazeera Net – that the Taliban’s prevention of girls from education “has nothing to do with the Islamic religion, but the matter is political in the first place,” explaining that the people in Afghanistan do not oppose education at all for boys and girls, adding, “There may be different opinions in the way Learning, but disagreement over education basically does not exist at all.”

Rangina pointed out that only the Taliban can answer the reason for preventing girls from education at this age, as they are prevented from completing their studies after the sixth grade, adding, “But what we can confirm is that the reason is not a religious matter at all.”

She explained that there are different ways that the Afghan people can actually resort to to bridge the education gap for girls in particular, including mosques that provide education until a certain age, as well as resorting to some virtual educational platforms on the Internet, which is available to a very small minority in the country who have access to the Internet. electricity, and study programs in some of the few educational centers there.

She pointed out that Afghanistan has been a Muslim country for more than 1,200 years, and therefore the issue of the spread of mosques and religious centers is familiar and not a new phenomenon, and the Taliban cannot oppose it, but they are facilities that have also become very limited, and many do not go to them for fear of the Taliban.

Virtual schools

In turn, Roya Mahboob, CEO and founder of the “Digital Citizen” Fund, said that lagging behind in education at the present time, especially in light of the development we are witnessing that includes artificial intelligence and many developments, will leave Afghanistan after a decade in clear backwardness and decline, as the world will be in The situation is completely different and cannot be caught up with easily. Therefore, it is necessary to combine efforts and support Afghan women to continue their education by providing alternative methods to traditional schools.

Mahboob added – in statements to Al Jazeera Net – that more than 65% of the Afghan people are under the age of 25, a percentage that indicates the vitality and youth of the country, which is a positive thing that must be built and worked on to be exploited through good education for the young generation capable of creating the future.

Mahboob – who left Afghanistan in 2004, and currently works from New York – where she founded the “Private Digital Fund” – said that the situation in Afghanistan is catastrophic and very destructive, and there are many risks surrounding the people, and therefore if there is a desire from the rulers there to rise up… In the country, they must open their ears to others and work together for a common future.

She revealed that she plans to launch an electronic platform to educate girls in the form of virtual schools, starting from the seventh to 12th grade, to bridge the gap in girls’ education, noting that it is expected to be officially launched next March.

For his part, Ghulam Omar Ghulam Qargha, a fellow at the Center for Global Education at the Brookings Institution, said that there are millions of girls deprived of education in Afghanistan, and we must work to develop solutions outside the box to overcome this problem, and try to help them in a way that enables them to achieve their goals in learning and the opportunity to participate. In life without marginalization.

He continued that no one has solutions to impose on the Taliban, which can only develop solutions to this problem, listen to the voices of the whole world, and open the way for women to participate politically, and not lag behind in the process of development and progress.