UN chief asks Taliban to let girls return to school

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday again called on the Taliban to reopen high schools to girls across Afghanistan.

Speaking as the UN General Assembly's "high-level" week began, Mr Guterres emphasised the importance of girls' education, saying it is vital "to deliver peace, security, and sustainable development, everywhere".

“From this platform, I appeal to the authorities in Afghanistan: Lift all restrictions on girls’ access to secondary education immediately,” Mr Guterres told a UN education summit ahead of a busy week that will see world leaders address the 193-member body.

According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, more than one million girls are thought to have been barred from high school since the Taliban swept to power in August 2021.

The Taliban do not currently have a permanent representative at the UN after the body rejected the group's pick for the position, Suhail Shaheen.

The Taliban are keeping schools open for boys but have told girls to stay home. The ban prevents girls attending grades seven to 12, primarily impacting girls aged between 12 and 18.

The UN chief also warned that unequal education was rapidly dividing society.

"Education is in deep crisis. Instead of being the great enabler, education is fast becoming the great divider. Some 70 percent of 10-year-olds in poor countries are unable to read a basic text," he said.

Also addressing the summit was Somaya Faruqi, the captain of Afghan Girls Robotics Team known as the "Afghan Dreamers".

She urged world leaders to "not forget those who are left behind, those not lucky enough to be at school".

Somaya Faruqi, activist and former captain of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, speaks during the Transforming Education Summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Reuters

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UAE currency

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950