Since returning to power, the Taliban has systematically reengineered Afghanistan’s education system to impose ideological control and enforce its system of “gender apartheid”. Girls remain barred from secondary and higher education, courses have been removed, books banned, female teachers dismissed, and teacher training programmes dismantled. At the same time, growing numbers of children are being diverted into religious education through newly constructed madrasas.
As part of its focus on ensuring that Afghan children can realise their right to right to quality education, the HAMRAH Network submitted information in January in response to a call by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education for her global stocktaking report on the implementation of international standards and guidelines in national curriculum’s, pedagogy and assessment which will be presented at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in June
HAMRAH’s submission is grounded in first-hand knowledge and draws on evidence, analysis, and reflection from HAMRAH cohort members whose programmes, enable thousands of children to access quality education and whose investigative journalism and research is tracking developments in the education sector.
The submission documents how Afghanistan’s education system has been reshaped since 2021, and assesses the way in which both access to and quality of education are being systematically undermined and the implications of this for inclusion, protection as well as peace and security.Despite the effective dismantling of the former education system, HAMRAH members, including Charmaghz, Learn Afghan, the Rahyab Initiative and Support for Afghan Girls’ Education, (SAGE) continue to educate Afghan girls through underground schools, online classes, radio-based learning, and community-based programmes.
