KABUL, Afghanistan — Former President Hamid Karzai has renewed calls for the Taliban to lift restrictions on women and girls, urging the reopening of girls’ schools and the restoration of employment opportunities for women across the country.
In an Eid message on Sunday, Karzai congratulated Afghans on the holiday but emphasized that the path to national progress depends on full access to education and work for all citizens.
“The continued restrictions are a serious obstacle to the country’s development,” Karzai said. “The sons and daughters of this land can only liberate the country from dependency and move toward self-reliance through education and knowledge.”
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and have severely curtailed the ability of women to work in most sectors, drawing condemnation from both inside and outside Afghanistan.
Karzai, who served as president from 2001 to 2014, remains one of the few political figures inside Afghanistan consistently speaking out against the Taliban’s rollback of women’s rights. In repeated public statements, he has called for policies that ensure equal access to education and basic freedoms for all Afghans.
His latest remarks come as the country marks Eid al-Fitr, a time typically reserved for celebration and unity, but one that this year arrives amid deepening concern over Afghanistan’s human rights situation, particularly for women and girls.
