ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has invited Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to participate in a global summit on girls’ education in the Muslim world, being held in Islamabad on January 11 and 12, education minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said.
The two-day International Conference on “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities” aims to address barriers to girls’ education and explore actionable solutions for Muslim societies worldwide.
“We have invited Afghanistan to attend this important conference,” said Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui during a press conference. He added, “While we respect the customs and culture of all nations, Islamic teachings provide no room for restrictions on girls’ education. This is a message we want to emphasize through the conference.”
The Afghan Taliban government, also known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has yet to confirm its participation. Representatives of organizations focused on advancing girls’ education in Afghanistan are attending the conference.
The conference, hosted by Pakistan under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), is being attended by 150 delegates, including education experts, religious scholars, diplomats, and politicians from 47 countries.
Minister Siddiqui stressed the importance of Afghanistan’s participation, highlighting the shared cultural and religious bonds between the neighbouring countries. “Afghanistan is an important Muslim nation for all of us. We hope their representatives will join us in this critical dialogue,” he remarked.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the interim government has imposed strict restrictions on girls’ education in Afghanistan. A ban on secondary and higher education for girls, announced in December 2022, remains in place despite being termed as “temporary.”
According to a UNICEF report published in August 2023, approximately 1.4 million Afghan girls are deprived of secondary education due to these restrictions.
The conference in Islamabad seeks to highlight Islam’s emphasis on education as a right for both men and women. Political analysts view such initiatives as crucial for advocating women’s rights, particularly in education, in Muslim-majority societies.
Opening the two-day International Conference, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for collective efforts to develop scalable and sustainable solutions for girls’ education. He emphasised that this cause is worth fighting for, worth committing resources to and worth advocating for.
Shehbaz Sharif said millions of young girls over the next decade will enter the job market, emphasising they have the potential not just to lift themselves, their families and nations out of poverty but also to enrich the global economy.
He said we owe it to our mothers, sisters, and daughters to ensure that their rights are respected, their ambitions are fulfilled, and that no cultural inhibitions stand in the way of achieving their dreams.
The Prime Minister said that despite its rich legacy, the Muslim world including Pakistan faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls. He noted that denying education to girls is tantamount to denying them their voice and choice while depriving them of their right to a bright future.
He pointed out that in Pakistan, women make up more than half of the total population, yet the female literacy rate stands at only 49 percent. Alarmingly, he said around 22.8 million children in the age bracket of five to sixteen years are out of school with a disproportionate number being girls.
He said the government is committed to providing quality education, creating jobs and offering meaningful opportunities which include scholarships and vocational training in demand driven skills such as Artificial Intelligence, data analytics and cyber security as well as provision of laptops to high achievers.
Shehbaz Sharif said the pursuit of knowledge is a sacred duty for every Muslim regardless of gender as emphasized by Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
He said we have decided to place Islamabad declaration to be signed by this conference before the UN including the UN Security Council as a collective aspiration of the Ummah.
The Prime Minister’s speech was followed by signing of International Partnership Agreement which represents a collective commitment to furthering the cause of girls’ education.
