Prominent Afghan girls’ education advocate arrested in Kabul, UN says | World News

A prominent Afghan girls’ education activist was arrested in Kabul this week, the United Nations said on Tuesday, and called on Taliban authorities to clarify the reasons for their detention.

Spokesmen for the Taliban’s government information ministry and intelligence agencies did not immediately respond to a request for comment or to confirm the detention.

“(Pen Path) head and girls’ education advocate Matiullah Wesa was arrested in Kabul on Monday,” the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement. The mission calls on the de facto authorities to clarify his whereabouts, the reasons for his arrest, and to ensure that he has access to legal representation and contact with his family.”

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Visa, who is from the southern province of Kandahar and has advocated for girls’ education for years, especially in conservative rural areas, including under a former Western-backed foreign government, said many girls living in the countryside were not getting education through education services. His organization, Pen Path, holds meetings with tribal elders, encourages communities and authorities to open schools, and distributes books and mobile libraries.

The Taliban government has barred most girls from high schools and banned women from universities, citing problems, including women’s Islamic dress. Officials said they were working on reopening schools, but did not give a timetable.

They say they respect women’s rights, based on their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan customs, and that security has improved in the country since the withdrawal of foreign troops, making it safer for many young children to go to school.

Last year, Wesa told Reuters that his work was free from political interference and impartial, with a focus on helping communities encourage girls’ education. (Reported by Kabul Newsroom)