Taliban schools also failing boys in Afghanistan, warns HRW

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report released on Wednesday highlighted that the Taliban’s “draconian educational policies” in Afghanistan are adversely affecting not only girls and women but also boys.

The 19-page report titled “‘Schools are Failing Boys Too’: The Taliban’s Impact on Boys’ Education in Afghanistan” outlines the detrimental consequences of Taliban rule on boys’ education since their takeover in August 2021.

The Taliban is causing “irreversible damage” to Afghanistan’s education system through the reintroduction of corporal punishment, curriculum changes and the use of unqualified teachers to replace women, most of whom have been barred from schools, Human Rights Watch has warned.

The report says that these changes have led to increased fears about attending school, falling attendance, and a loss of hope for the future; with this, the Taliban risk creating a lost generation.

Concerned governments and UN agencies should urge the Taliban to end their discriminatory ban on girls’ education and to stop violating boys’ rights to quality education, the organization says.