US VP Kamala Harris 'deeply saddened' by ban on Afghan girls' schooling

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• Mar 25, 2023 | Dhupali Das

US Vice President Kamala Harris is "deeply saddened by the one-year anniversary of the restriction on girls' secondary school attendance in Afghanistan...

Digital Desk: US Vice President Kamala Harris is "deeply saddened by the one-year anniversary of the restriction on girls' secondary school attendance in Afghanistan, as well as the prohibition on university education for Afghan women", Khaama Press reported.  "We will never stop championing the rights of women and girls around the world," Harris said on Twitter.

In a recent interview with CNN, US special envoy to Afghanistan, Rina Amiri expressed concern about the condition of Afghan women.  "Afghan women are leaders and they are resilient and they are fighting back. The world needs to understand to counter the narrative, that the situation of Afghan women is hopeless," she said, according to Khaama Press.

For the second year in succession, female students in grades 6-12 in Afghanistan were barred from attending class. According to Afghanistan-based TOLO News, US President Joe Biden recently stated that Washington stands with women confronting violence in Iran and Afghanistan.

Biden made the remarks in a White House speech for Women's History Month. "We support women who are suffering brutality in Iran and Afghanistan. The budget I proposed two weeks ago contains more than three billion dollars, a record amount, to advance general quality globally, not just at home," he said as quoted by TOLO News. 

This comes as the US's Deputy Foreign Minister, Wendy R. Sherman, has also urged Kabul to grant women and girls their fundamental rights. "We call on the Taliban once more to allow women and girls to exercise their basic human rights and fundamental freedom in order to fulfill their promise to the Afghan people and the international community," she said, according to TOLO News.

According to the Taliban, women's rights are an internal Afghan issue in which foreign nations should not intervene. "They must be aware of their duties in relation to Afghanistan. They put sanctions on the Afghan people, including these women. They have frozen the funds and will not allow for improvement," said Islamic Emirate's spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.