Kamala Harris 'deeply saddened' by ban on Afghan girls' schooling

WASHINGTON: US Vice President Kamala Harris has said that she is "deeply saddened by the one-year anniversary of the ban on girls' secondary school attendance in Afghanistan, and by the prohibition on university education for Afghan women", Khaama Press reported. "We will never stop championing the rights of women and girls around the world," Harris said on Twitter.

Recently, US special envoy to Afghanistan, Rina Amiri, in an interview with CNN voiced concerns about the situation of Afghan women. "Afghan women are leaders and they are resilient and they are fighting back. The world needs to understand to counter the narrative, that the situation of Afghan women is hopeless," she said, according to Khaama Press.

With the beginning of the school year in Afghanistan, female students in grades 6-12 were banned from attending their classes for the second year in a row. US President Joe Biden recently said that Washington stands with women in Iran and Afghanistan who are facing violence, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

Biden made the remarks in a White House speech for Women's History Month. "We stand with women in Iran and Afghanistan who are facing down violence ... The budget I laid out two weeks ago, includes more than three billion dollars, a record amount, to advance general quality globally not just at home," he said, as quoted by TOLO News.

This comes as the Deputy Foreign Minister of the US, Wendy R. Sherman also called on Kabul to allow women and girls their basic rights. "We again call on the Taliban to allow women and girls to exercise their basic human rights and the fundamental freedom to deliver on their commitment to the Afghan people and to the international community," she said, according to TOLO News.

According to the Taliban, women's rights are an internal issue in Afghanistan and foreign countries should not interfere. "They should understand their responsibilities regarding Afghanistan. They impose their sanctions on the people of Afghanistan, on these women. They have frozen the money and don't allow improvement," said Islamic Emirate's spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid.