KIGALI, Rwanda — There were many teary eyes in the audience during the opening day of the Commonwealth Women’s Forum (CWF 2022) on Monday as Shabana Basij-Rasikh made an appeal for the Commonwealth to help girls in her home country, Afghanistan, who have been banned from school by the governing Taliban.

“I come to you from the only country where girls’ education is illegal, and it’s 2022. So when we discuss numbers, data, 250 million children — mostly girls — out of school, it’s one thing; there are barriers [and] there are policy failures that can be addressed. But it is completely different when we say there is a country in the world where girls’ education is illegal,” said Basij-Rasikh who operates a school for Afghan girls in Rwanda.

“The only Afghan girls who are legally able to attend high school today are here in Rwanda. And I am sincerely grateful for the generosity of Rwanda and Rwandans for welcoming us since last August when Taliban took over Afghanistan, when education became impossible for girls,” she added.

Afghanistan is not among the 54 member states of the Commonwealth but Basij-Rasikh warned that the grouping cannot afford to have that country become an example for other countries.

“We should not be okay that a country and authority makes it illegal for girls to go to school,” declared Basij-Rasikh.

“So if there is one important action I would like to put forward — if I may — to all of you here, and to the Commonwealth leaders, is to speak in the loudest voice and demand a change. We cannot waste time. Data show that when students are kept out of school just for two months their learning is set back by up to five years, so we cannot afford to waste time because we need girls to be educated.

“We have data [and] we have years and years of longitudinal studies proving that girls’ education is critical to eradicating poverty, to fighting global health crisis, climate crisis, etcetera,” noted Basij-Rasikh.

She told the audience that the school in Rwanda has opened its registration for Afghan girls from refugee camps across the world for the next academic year, but because of the restrictions in Afghanistan girls cannot be admitted directly from that country.

Basij-Rasikh said she has received calls from several Afghan families who want their daughters to be admitted into the school, including one father who said he would be willing to become a refugee to allow his girls a chance at education.

“So while we have an authority that makes girls’ education illegal in Afghanistan, we have allies, including men, who are continuing to fight for girls’ education, so please join them,” Basij-Rasikh said to sustained applause.