Afghanistan: World Bank halts project over ban on a girls school
Written byTimes Magazine
The World Bank has suspended four $600 million (£458 million) projects in Afghanistan after the Taliban banned girls from returning to secondary school. The goals of the projects include improving education, health, and agriculture.
They also have a "strong focus on ensuring girls and women participate and benefit from support," the bank previously said. Last week, the Taliban overturned a decision to allow schools to reopen after months of restrictions. The Taliban have announced that schools will reopen once a decision is made on schoolgirl uniforms by "Sharia law and Afghan traditions."
The move drew international condemnation when protesters gathered near the Ministry of Education in Kabul on Saturday to demand schools reopen. World Bank projects focus on providing 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 after the Taliban take control of the country Earlier this month, the World Bank's board of directors approved plans to use more than $1 billion to support "urgent needs," including education, agriculture, and health.
According to the plan, the money should not be handed over to the Taliban but distributed through UN agencies and aid organizations.
"As a first step, ARTF donors will decide on four projects worth approximately $600 million to support urgent needs in education, health, agriculture, and community livelihoods," the bank said on May 1. March statement. "This $600 million will be supplemented by additional funding from ARTF in 2022 if conditions permit," he added.
The understands the project will only proceed if the bank believes it can meet its targets. On Friday, a joint statement by officials from 10 countries, including the United States and Britain, described the Taliban's actions as "deeply disturbing." The US State Department also canceled a meeting with the Taliban scheduled in Qatar.
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