Nano Nagle faced many challenges in her work to provide education to girls in even the poorest neighbourhoods. She knew that the key to lifting communities out of poverty was access to education and she lived her life ‘on the razor’s edge’ doing this. In 2023, UNESCO dedicated the International Day of Education to the women and girls of Afghanistan who have been denied the right of access to education.
UNESCO is hosting an event at the United Nations in New York on 24 January 2023, and the very first discussion will be about the education of girls and women in Afghanistan. The event will involve the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN General Assembly, as well as UNESCO’s Director-General.
“No country in the world should bar women and girls from receiving an education. Education is a universal human right that must be respected. The international community has the responsibility to ensure that the rights of Afghan girls and women are restored without delay. The war against women must stop.”
Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General
According to UNESCO, 2.5 million (80%) of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are out of school. Of those, 1.2 million were recently denied access to secondary schools and universities. You can read the full UNESCO article here: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-dedicates-2023-international-day-education-afghan-girls-and-women
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