Marking International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Saturday, Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), called on OIC member states to intensify efforts to ensure the rights of all women and girls are upheld in science and technology.
“The Secretary-General indicated that this day is an opportunity to follow up on the full implementation of the said OIC resolution in order to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls,” Taha said.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also emphasized gender equality in access to education, stating that the participation of more women and girls in learning science will bring a better future.
“More women and girls in science equals a better future for all. We must promote gender equality in science by affirming women’s rights & breaking down stereotypes,” Guterres wrote on Twitter.
Let’s all do our part to fill classrooms, laboratories, and boardrooms with women scientists,” he tweeted.
The American Embassy in Afghanistan, which operates in Qatar, also wrote on its Twitter page that on International Science Day for Women and Girls, the embassy praises the incredible work of the Afghan girls’ robotics group.
“They are a great example of hope and hard work – if Afghan women and girls are given an opportunity, they can help build the innovative, technology-enabled world of the future. Afghan women and girls deserve to be educated at all levels,” the embassy tweeted.
For girls in Afghanistan, above Grade 6, it’s been 509 long days since the Taliban banned them from going to school.
Moreover, the Taliban-run ministry of higher education in a letter in December 2022, ordered all private and public universities to suspend education for Afghan women.
