The situation for minors in Afghanistan remains dire: eight boys were killed by unexploded ordnance last week, while girls remain banned from secondary schools. Yesterday afternoon an activist who was fighting for the right to female education was arrested.
Kabul () – The conditions of minors in Afghanistan remain dramatic: yesterday afternoon a well-known activist for the right to education for women was arrested, while only last week eight children died from anti-personnel mines , as reported by UNICEF. They were minors who were looking for scrap metal and pieces of metal to sell and earn something with it.
In 2022, more than 700 children were killed by unexploded ordnance, the UN Children’s Fund added, with an average of two children losing their lives every day. In Afghanistan, considered the world’s largest minefield, UNICEF works with other organizations to raise awareness about the dangers of explosive war debris, but with reduced international aid after the Taliban recaptured the country in August 2021 , funding for mine clearance also decreased. It is estimated that millions of antipersonnel mines were used during the decades of conflict, along with other explosive materials left by the international coalition near battlefields or military barracks.
Meanwhile, the situation of girls, who have been excluded from higher education for almost two years, has not improved. Yesterday Matiullah Wesa, a 30-year-old activist who had traveled all over the country fighting for the right to education for boys and girls, was arrested. Some men seized him when he was returning from the mosque, his brother Ataullah said: “When Matiullah asked them for his identity papers, they beat him and took him by force,” he explained.
The Taliban did not reveal the reasons for her arrest, which, however, joins that of several teachers who had criticized the ban on female education. Professor Ismail Mashal, for example, had been jailed last month while distributing free books on the street and, after being released on March 5, he abandoned his activism.
Matiullah Wesa founded the organization Pen Path, which works to sensitize the Afghan population on the importance of education for young girls by visiting village chiefs in rural areas and distributing books to children. “We are counting the hours, the minutes and the seconds until the schools for girls open. The damage caused by the closure of schools is undeniable and irreversible”, she had tweeted last week on the occasion of the start of the new school year. “We had meetings with the local population and we will continue our protest if the schools remain closed.”
Previously, the Taliban had claimed that schools and universities were temporarily closed to create a “proper environment” for the return of female students, one that respects “shari’a (Islamic law) and Afghan culture.” In reality, despite repeated promises, the restrictions placed on women and girls have only increased in the last 18 months. A few days ago, groups of women marched in Kabul demanding the reopening of the schools: at least three protesters were arrested and released the next day.
