Letter to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States - Senator Baldwin Joins Bipartisan Group of Women Senators in Letter to President Biden Urging Response to Taliban for Reneging on Commitment to Allow Afghan Girls to Return to School

Letter

Dear Mr. President,

We write to you today deeply concerned about the future of Afghanistan following the
unjustifiable cancellation of secondary school for Afghan girls. While we are not surprised that
the Taliban has once again dismissed the rights of girls and young women, we are alarmed by the
implications of their decision for 50 percent of the population and the future of Afghanistan. To
this end, we urge you to convey clear consequences to the Taliban for their actions, and take
immediate steps to bolster support for Afghan women and girls.

The U.S., international community and most importantly, the young women of Afghanistan
welcomed last month's announcement by Taliban officials that secondary schools would be
reopened for all Afghan students, including girls. Across Afghanistan, girls showed up to school
last Wednesday, excited by the opportunity to learn again. Instead of open classrooms and
welcoming teachers, they were met with locked doors and closed gates. Sadly, denying girls a
full education reflects the Taliban's broader assault on women's rights and freedom. Since the
Taliban's overthrow of the legitimate government of Afghanistan in August 2021, Afghanistan's
women and girls have suffered. Women have been banned from most jobs, are required to be
accompanied by a male relative and are restricted in where they can travel. When women protest
this treatment, they are arrested, beaten and disappeared.

Despite the consequences, the women of Afghanistan have demonstrated bravery in contending
the Taliban's draconian rules. We have seen young women and girls bravely protest the closure
of their schools, demanding dignity and human rights. The United States must lead the
international community in supporting these women in their continued struggle for human rights
and basic freedoms.

To this end, there must be clear consequences for the Taliban's disregard of the rights of women
and girls and the will of the Afghan people. We welcome your decision to suspend engagements
with the Taliban over the reversal of the Taliban's promise to allow Afghan girls to attend
secondary school. We urge you to use the tools at your disposal--including reinstating travel
bans under the United Nations Security Council sanctions regime--to clearly convey to the
Taliban that anything short of full education for girls and women is unacceptable to the United
States, our allies and the Afghan people.

Second, we stand ready to work with you to take every step necessary to support the rights and
freedoms of Afghan women and girls, including access to quality primary, secondary and tertiary
education. The U.S. must work with our partners and allies to ensure that the international
community does not lose focus on the needs of Afghan women and girls. U.S. leadership here is
crucial, and we must live up to our own commitments under the Women, Peace, and Security
Strategy. For the past two decades, the U.S. has been the leader of international involvement in
Afghanistan. We must continue to show the world that we are prioritizing the rights of Afghan
women and girls, or we cannot expect our allies to do so.

Further, we must engage the women of Afghanistan as our partners in mobilizing the provision
of food assistance, maternal and child health needs and education, not only for women and girls
but for all Afghans. The humanitarian crisis has crippled Afghanistan and left 95 percent of
Afghans hungry. In the face of such unprecedented strife, it is the Afghan women who have
developed assistance networks and communal groups to support their families and communities.
The U.S. and the international community must tackle any obstacles to engaging women activists
and fully empower women's groups in decision-making and programming to funnel assistance to
those who need it most.

Over the past two decades, the women of Afghanistan have fought to rebuild their country as a
society that allows them to prosper and thrive. This move by the Taliban threatens to undo that
progress. The decision to continue to deny girls access to secondary education is a clear signal
that the Taliban's ideology toward women rights remains unchanged from when they ruled
Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

This is an urgent policy and moral prerogative and we look forward to working with you to
ensure all Afghan children have access to a complete education regardless of gender, location or
ethnicity.

Sincerely,