MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the crackdown on the right to education and education rights activists in Afghanistan, including the case of Matiullah Wesa

18.4.2023 - (2023/2648(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Pedro Marques, Carina Ohlsson, Thijs Reuten
on behalf of the S&D Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0205/2023

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B9‑0209/2023

European Parliament resolution on the crackdown on the right to education and education rights activists in Afghanistan, including the case of Matiullah Wesa

(2023/2648(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-   having regard to Rule 144 of its rules of procedure,

 

1. whereas Afghanistan is the most repressive country in the world for women and girls, and the situation continues to deteriorate alarmingly; whereas the systematic dismantling of women’s and girls’ rights by the Taliban is a deliberate policy aimed at erasing women from public life;

 

2. whereas the Taliban has prohibited women’s and girls’ access to secondary schools and universities; whereas Afghanistan is now the only country in the world which refuses to allow women and girls to be educated beyond primary level;

 

3. whereas a lack of education not only severely impacts women’s abilities to be economically active and independent, but also increases the likelihood of suffering forced and child marriage, gender-based violence, and sexual exploitation and abuse;

 

4. whereas volunteer organisations such as PenPath, established by activist Matiullah Wesa, have been campaigning for access to education, and providing educational resources and mobile classrooms to Afghan children including girls;

 

5. whereas activists campaigning against the education ban have been arbitrarily threatened, beaten and arrested; whereas on 27 March Matiullah Wesa was arrested and his house raided; whereas he has been detained without the ability to appeal or receive family visits; whereas other members of PenPath have gone into hiding;

 

 

1. Deplores the draconian rollback of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, which amounts to gender apartheid; denounces in the strongest possible terms the ban on secondary and university education; expresses its strong solidarity with Afghan women and girls, and those who are risking their safety to provide education; 

 

2. Recalls that the Taliban committed to restoring access to education for girls; insists that the de-facto authorities fulfil this pledge and reopen schools and universities immediately; stresses that this should be the first step in a programme of restoring  rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls;

 

3. Calls for the immediate release of Matiullah Wesa and all activists detained as a result of campaigning for and providing education; stresses that all detainees must have access to legal representation and family visits; underlines that civil society must be able to operate freely;

 

4. Urges the Commission and EEAS to increase support for alternative resources for education in Afghanistan, including funding and support for education provided by non-governmental organisations;

 

5. Calls on the EEAS and Member States to urgently address persisting obstacles to the evacuation of persons eligible under Decisions 2022/151 and 2022/2442, notably capacity deficiencies; urges Member States to expand humanitarian admissions for vulnerable Afghans, in particular women and girls, and refrain from forced deportations;

 

6. Recalls  that the unrecognised government has failed to meet the benchmarks set by the EU as a condition for engagement, notably that of upholding basic human rights including that of women; stresses therefore that the EU must continue to put pressure on the Taliban until such fundamental rights are respected;

 

7. Instruct its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the HR/VP, and the EU Special Envoy to Afghanistan.