The Taliban stated that schools would reopen only after a decision on female students’ uniforms was made in accordance with “Sharia law and Afghan tradition.”
The move has sparked international outrage, and on Saturday, protesters gathered near the Ministry of Education in Kabul, the country’s capital, to demand that the schools reopen.
The World Bank projects aimed to provide women and girls with equal access to services in Afghanistan as men.
They are funded by the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which was frozen last year following the Taliban’s takeover of the country.
The World Bank’s executive board approved a plan earlier this month to use more than $1 billion from the fund to support “urgent needs” such as education, agriculture, and health.
The money, according to the plan, would not be given to Taliban officials, but would instead be distributed through United Nations agencies and aid organizations.
“As a first step, ARTF donors will decide on four projects totaling approximately $600 million to address urgent needs in the education, health, and agriculture sectors, as well as community livelihoods,” the bank said in a statement on March 1.
This $600 million will be supplemented by additional ARTF allocations as conditions permit during 2022 “it was added
“This phased approach is intended to be flexible and adaptive, in recognition of the fact that the situation on the ground remains fluid.”
The BBC understands that the projects will only be restarted when the bank is confident that its objectives can be met.
On Friday, officials from ten countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement calling the Taliban’s actions “profoundly disturbing.”
Meetings with the Taliban that were scheduled to take place in Qatar have also been canceled by the US State Department.
“This phased approach is intended to be flexible and adaptive, in recognition of the fact that the situation on the ground remains fluid.”
The BBC understands that the projects will only be restarted when the bank is confident that its objectives can be met.
On Friday, officials from ten countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement calling the Taliban’s actions “profoundly disturbing.”
Meetings with the Taliban that were scheduled to take place in Qatar have also been canceled by the US State Department.
Source: BBC
