Mahnaz, 15, faces an uncertain future after being forced into an arranged marriage when the Taliban closed girls’ schools.
Mahnaz, who was in the ninth grade when the schools were shut down, explains that she is a victim of the Taliban’s policies regarding girls’ education. “I am 15 years old. When the schools were closed, there was an influential person in our area who had relations with the Taliban. He proposed several times and said, ‘Your daughter is not going to school, she has grown up, marry her off.’ My father received a lot of money and married me to the boy,” she recounted. “Their son studied until the ninth grade, and now I spend all day at home and can only go out occasionally. I am not allowed to do anything. I wanted to become a doctor and treat women.”
Mahnaz’s story highlights the broader crisis facing Afghan girls. A report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) emphasized the importance of gender equality in education and warned that dropping out of school exposes girls to violence and forced marriages.
“120 million girls are out of school, putting them at risk of violence, exploitation, and early marriage,” UNESCO stated.
It has been nearly 1,050 days since the Taliban banned girls from attending school and closed universities to female students. Many female students express deep concerns about their futures due to these oppressive policies.
“I am sitting at home, depressed, and my depression increases day by day when I think about the past, the future, and my studies,” said Zainab, a student. “I decided to take an English course. When I went to the English course, it continued for a while, but three months before I was supposed to take the TOEFL exam, the Taliban closed the educational courses, schools, and universities.”
“I loved studying. Since the day the schools were closed to us, I have been sitting at home,” said Zahra, another student.
UNESCO is set to hold a meeting with Afghan civil society members this week to address these issues. The organization revealed that nearly 80 percent of school-age girls are deprived of education in Afghanistan, with almost 30 percent never having enrolled in primary school.
