On Monday, the agenda for the United Nations General Assembly discussions has been decided to address the issue of infringement of the rights of Afghan women and children. According to the reports of the UN Children’s Agency, an estimated 5 million girls were out of school even before the Taliban’s return on August 15, 2021, due to a lack of resources, and now the situation has turned even more dire.

Ever since the fall of the democratically elected government in Afghanistan, the socio-economic and political condition of the country has taken a plunge, with certain areas suffering a more severe dent than others. Women in Afghanistan have been one of the constant victims of Taliban rule, and since its return to power, the condition of women and even young children has turned into a humanitarian crisis.

According to the reports, the repressive policies will not only set the country back by decades but also drastically and negatively affect female literacy, healthcare, and representation in the general public. This has also proven to be a loss of human capital, costing Kabul approximately $5.4 billion.

The reality is far from what the Taliban officials claim, as a staggering 80 percent of girls and young women of school-going age are denied the right to education in Afghanistan under the current regime, as stated by Care International. More than two years have passed, and young girls still wait for the schools to call them back.

-Anushka Upadhyay