Shortly after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, it banned education beyond sixth grade for girls. Since then, no female Afghans have been allowed to obtain either secondary or tertiary education. Women who were pursuing professional degrees in areas such as medicine, engineering, and law had their studies abruptly halted and they have all been sitting idle at home for the past three years, with no idea what to do with their lives.

Afghanistan is said to be the only country in the world that prevents girls from attending secondary schools and universities. The Taliban argues that higher education for women does not comply with its interpretation of Islam. No other Muslim country in the world makes such a claim. Speaking to a BBC journalist last year, one Afghan woman said that prior to the ban, she dreamed of studying for a PhD. Now she feels that “[she is] physically alive but mentally dead.” That is an absolutely horrible situation for any young person to be in.

In 2015, the United Nations issued a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the stated aim of using it as a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” The SDGs were adopted by all member states. All countries were encouraged to make maximum effort to meet those declared objectives by 2030.

The fourth of the 17 aspirations in the SDGs requires nations to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” The fifth urges member states to strive to “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” Afghanistan embraced the SDGs. According to this recent assessment by the United Nations, “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) has taken action to affirm its commitment to attaining the SDGs.”

That is quite odd. The evidence on the ground in the country directly contradicts this glowing appraisal by the United Nations. The real truth is that the Taliban has actively sought to defeat the very purpose of the SGDs. There is no better way to empower women and girls than to educate them. By denying them higher education, the Taliban is consigning the country’s female population to the very bottom of the socio-economic ladder.

Forget about the SDGs for a moment. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted by the United Nations in December 1948, states, in part: “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.” So, the entire world has known for the past 76 years that higher education is a human right, and that countries are prohibited from limiting access to it on the basis of gender or some other classification. But the leadership of the United Nations has done nothing for three years while the Taliban clearly and egregiously continues to deny this basic right to Afghan women.

I agree with the idea of showing respect for other people’s cultures when asking them to do certain things. But access to education is such a universal principle that it should have nothing to do with anyone’s cultural preferences. It is quite a shame to see the international community sit idly by while a small group of unelected men take the entire female population of a country hostage in such manner for so long.

The women and girls of Afghanistan are crying out for help. This is precisely the kind of problem the United Nations was set up to deal with. Moreover, it is this same global institution that deems education of such importance that it has consistently encouraged all nations to fully promote it within their borders. The leadership of the United Nations should stop pretending as if it has forgotten its own words written in the UDHR and SDGs.