Coinciding with World Children`s Day, Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, has called for the immediate reopening of schools and universities for girls across the country.

According to AnsarPress, Karzai stated in a message that education is not only every child`s right but also a vital need of society.

He added:

"For this reason, it is imperative that the doors of schools and universities be opened as soon as possible to all our children - both girls and boys - so that, through equal access to education, the path toward the country`s progress and prosperity can be restored."

Currently, girls above the sixth grade remain banned from attending school under Taliban rule.

Over the past four years, despite repeated international appeals for the Taliban to respect women`s and girls` rights, the group has intensified its restrictions instead.

The ban on girls` education, combined with Afghanistan`s deepening economic crisis, has left thousands of young girls vulnerable to forced and early marriages, highlighting one of the gravest consequences of the ongoing gender apartheid in the country.