- Taliban arrests Afghan girls' education campaigner Matiullah Wesa
- The group has not revealed any information regarding the arrest or why the individual was taken into custody
- The United Nations was already in contact with relevant de facto authorities urging for details of the arrest
The Taliban terrorist group, currently in control of Afghanistan's government, has drawn scrutiny from the United Nations after arresting Matiullah Wesa, a girls' education campaigner who founded the Pen Path organization.
Officials from the UN have urged the Taliban to clarify their decision to arrest West and reveal his whereabouts on Tuesday. The individual in question was taken into custody on Monday while he was in Kabul, and the governing body has revealed no information regarding his detention.
Taliban Arrests Prominent Girls' Education Campaigner
In a statement, Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN, said that they are calling for the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to ensure that West has proper access to legal representation and can contact his family.
He added that the UN mission in Afghanistan was already in contact with relevant de facto authorities in the country and was discussing the girls' education campaigner's case. They were also talking about issues with other activists and journalists who were still being detained, as per AA.
Wesa is the founder of the Pen Path organization and has been campaigning for girls' right to education in Afghanistan through his organization. He has been fighting for these rights since the Taliban terrorist group banned girls and women from having any form of formal education.
The Taliban's seizure of control of the Afghan government in 2021 was followed by the disruption of international financial assistance to the nation. This situation has left the worn-torn country to suffer economically and exacerbated humanitarian and human rights crises.
United Nations Urge for Details of Matiullah Wesa's Arrest
Since the group's return to power, girls and women have been deprived of their rights, including education, and they have all but vanished from public life. There have already been thousands of women who have lost their jobs or were forced to resign from government institutions and the private sector following the Taliban's crackdown.
Wesa, 30 years old, spent several years traveling across Afghanistan in an attempt to improve access to education for all children, including girls. According to BBC, he has often received threats to his well-being throughout his voluntary work.
In parallel with the individual's arrest, the Taliban also ordered Wesa's house to be raided, which follows the arrest of several activists who have called for women's education. An outspoken critic of the Taliban government, Prof. Ismail Mashal, was arrested in February while he was handing out free books in Kabul. On March 5, he was freed, but he has not spoken out since his release.
Wesa was known for bringing his mobile library and advocacy to various regions of Afghanistan that are highly remote. On top of providing education access to young kids, he was also trying to highlight the corruption in the country's national educational system, said CBS News.
