SEOUL: Leading contenders began to throw their hats in the ring on Tuesday as South Korea officially set June 3 for a snap presidential election triggered by last week’s removal from office of impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol.
The power vacuum at the top of government has impeded Seoul’s efforts to negotiate with the administration of US President Donald Trump at a time of spiralling US tariffs and slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Yoon was removed on Friday over his short-lived declaration of martial law in December that plunged the key US ally into crisis, triggering a new election that could reshape its foreign and domestic policy.
“The government intends to designate June 3 as the 21st presidential election day,” Acting President Han Duck-soo told a cabinet meeting, citing factors such as the time political parties need to prepare for the event.
Yoon’s labor minister Kim Moon-soo is among a handful of hopefuls who have signalled their intention to run, resigning his post on Tuesday and saying he would launch his campaign.
While not officially a member of Yoon’s People Power Party at the moment, Kim has been polling better than other conservative contenders.
“I tendered my resignation and decided to run because the people want it, people I know want it, and I feel a sense of responsibility to solve national difficulties,” Kim told reporters.
Economic conditions during a “severe national crisis” are hurting people’s livelihoods, he said.
“I thought that all politicians and people should unite to overcome the crisis and work together to help the country develop further,” Kim said.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a PPP lawmaker who was its first to vote for Yoon’s impeachment, also declared his intention to run on Tuesday, saying he was a “cleaner candidate than anyone else.”
He also vowed to secure new economic growth engines including artificial intelligence, to counter Trump’s trade policies.
Ahn fought the last three presidential elections, winning more than 21 percent of the popular vote in 2017, but dropping out and endorsing other candidates in the other two. He is not polling high enough to be included in most recent surveys.
Kim and Ahn will join a wide open field of conservative candidates trying to overcome their party’s second impeachment in as many presidencies.
Conservative Park Geun-hye was impeached, removed from office, and imprisoned in 2017 over a corruption scandal.
Lee Jae-myung, the populist leader of the liberal Democratic Party who lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin in 2022, is a clear front-runner, but faces legal challenges of his own.
These include multiple trials for charges such as violating the election law and bribery.
Nevertheless, he is expected to step down as DP leader and declare his candidacy as soon as this week.
A Gallup poll published on Friday showed 34 percent of respondents supported Lee as the next leader, while 9 percent backed Kim, 5 percent opted for former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, 4 percent chose Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and 2 percent plumped for Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court for violating his official duty by issuing a martial law decree on December 3 and mobilizing troops in a bid to halt parliamentary proceedings.
The law requires a new presidential election to be held within 60 days if the position becomes vacant.
Yoon still faces criminal insurrection charges, with arguments in his trial to begin on April 14.
South Korea has faced months of political turmoil since Yoon stunned the country by declaring martial law, triggering his impeachment by parliament and the impeachment of acting leader Han.
Han’s impeachment was later overturned by the Constitutional Court and he will stay in the role of acting president until the election.

LONDON: With the Taliban’s ban on secondary education for teenage girls now in its fourth year, the dreams of millions across Afghanistan remain on hold. If the policy continues, experts say it could have serious implications for women’s health and the nation’s development.

The ban, reimposed in September 2021, has already deprived 2.2 million Afghan girls of secondary education as of 2025, according to the UN children’s fund, UNICEF. If the ban persists until 2030, this number could rise to more than 4 million.

“The consequences for these girls — and for Afghanistan — are catastrophic,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, warned in a statement, adding that the ban “negatively impacts the health system, the economy, and the future of the nation.”

The ban is among the harshest measures imposed by the Taliban since its return to power in August 2021. It bars girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and from universities. Afghanistan is the only country in the world to enforce such a ban.

The Taliban claims its policy aligns with its interpretation of Islamic law, mirroring similar measures during its initial rule from 1996 to 2001.

The ramifications of the ban extend far beyond the immediate exclusion of girls from schooling. Its effects are likely to reverberate through Afghan society for decades unless the policy is reversed.

Salma Niazi, editor in chief of the Afghan Times, told Arab News the ban “will have devastating, multi-generational effects,” risking “a profound brain drain, economic stagnation, and increased poverty.”

Economically, Afghanistan loses an estimated 2.5 percent of its annual gross domestic product due to the exclusion of girls from secondary education, according to a 2022 UNICEF report.

Niazi said educated women are vital to a nation’s progress, contributing to healthcare, governance, and community resilience.

“Denying them education entrenches gender inequality, limits workforce productivity, and exacerbates cycles of vulnerability, including child marriage and maternal mortality,” she said. “The societal and economic costs will be felt for decades.”

Dr. Ayesha Ahmad, a global health humanities scholar at St. George’s University of London, echoed these concerns. “Even if boys and men can access education, there is no foundation for a country’s flourishment without equality in education,” she told Arab News.

“Most significantly, for the forthcoming multiple age groups affected by the education ban, there is a generational impact that will take designated efforts to heal the collective traumas that are being enforced and imposed onto the lives of Afghan girls and women.”

The Taliban’s December 2024 closure of medical education programs for women has intensified these risks. UNICEF’s Russell warned that fewer female doctors and midwives will leave women without critical care, estimating “an additional 1,600 maternal deaths and over 3,500 infant deaths.”

She said in her March statement: “These are not just numbers; they represent lives lost and families shattered.”

Afghanistan already has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, with at least 600 deaths per 100,000 live births — nearly triple the global average.

The Taliban’s requirement for male guardians to accompany women seeking healthcare further endangers those in labor. UN Women projects that by 2026, the education ban could increase early childbearing rates by 45 percent and maternal mortality risks by 50 percent.

Ahmad accused the Taliban of “weaponizing discrimination into genocide” through barring women from medical training. “Girls and women simply will die,” she said.

With nearly 28 percent of Afghan girls married before they are 18, UNICEF warns the education ban will only heighten the risk of child marriage, threatening girls’ health and agency.

“With fewer girls receiving an education, girls face a higher risk of child marriage with negative repercussions on their well-being and health,” Russell said.

It is through such policies that the Taliban systematically erases women’s autonomy, said Ahmad, “deliberately shrinking spaces that girls and women can occupy through their growth, individuality, wishes, and agency.”

Beyond physical harm, the mental health toll is severe. Ahmad said the ban fosters “hopelessness, despair, depression, and suicidality” among Afghan girls and women.

She called for greater awareness of what she described as “a gender apartheid,” urging action against the Taliban policies that erase women’s autonomy.

The policy also threatens Afghanistan’s global standing.

Hasina Safi, Afghanistan’s former minister for women’s affairs, said the ban on girls’ education “will further isolate Afghanistan and Afghan women” while deepening “inequality and instability at all levels — from grassroots communities to policy making.”

She told Arab News: “When you educate a man, you educate an individual; when you educate a woman, you educate an entire family. The first school of a child is a mother.

“The first word of the Qur’an revealed was ‘Iqra,’ which means read — which clearly reflects the importance of education even in Islam.”

Despite these challenges, families are seeking alternatives to ensure their daughters receive an education. Some are turning to illegal underground schools, the former minister said.

Ahmad explained that although underground schools provide some relief for Afghan girls desperately seeking an education, they remain informal and poorly resourced. “Unfortunately, these are not of an adequate standard,” she said. “They operate in silence.”

Online programs offer another avenue but come with obstacles such as high overseas fees and limited internet access. Afghan students also struggle with power outages and technological barriers while trying to meet academic expectations.

Even if Afghan women complete their education through such means, employment opportunities remain scarce under Taliban restrictions.

“One student I know from Afghanistan had to write her dissertation whilst managing electricity power cuts and not being able to charge or use her laptop to work or access student systems such as lectures,” said Ahmad.

“And to what end? There is no employment for women to develop a career from their education.”

Niazi of the Afghan Times said that in addition to underground schools, Afghan civil society, educators, and international organizations “have shown remarkable resilience,” discretely operating digital learning platforms and community-based initiatives.

“Some NGOs are providing scholarships for Afghan girls to study abroad, while advocacy groups continue to pressure the Taliban through local and global campaigns,” she said. “However, these efforts are often fragmented and operate under severe constraints.”

Highlighting efforts by her independent news outlet, Niazi added: “At the Afghan Times, we’ve launched an Open Mic Podcast where young women share how they’ve clung to hope through online education.

“Their stories — of studying secretly via Zoom, accessing smuggled e-books, or teaching younger sisters at home — reveal both resilience and desperation.”

The three women urged the international community to play a greater role in pressuring the Taliban to lift the ban, which remains a stark violation of fundamental rights and continues to draw widespread condemnation from international organizations and activists alike.

Safi noted that while the international community has responded to the issue, including “condemnations and advocacy,” these actions have “yielded no results.”

She added: “The international community can play a pivotal role at multiple levels of engagement with the Taliban by implementing short, mid, and long-term programs to restore access to education through conditional funding and other proven strategies.”

The international community has strongly condemned the Taliban’s actions. Organizations like UNICEF, UNESCO, and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan have repeatedly called for the immediate lifting of the ban, emphasizing its catastrophic impact on Afghanistan’s future.

Countries like the UK have taken a firm stance against the restrictions, and Islamic nations have sought to pressure the Taliban into reversing the policy.

While the Taliban remains resistant to outside pressure, Safi said sustained international efforts could still create pathways for Afghan girls to access education — even under restrictive conditions.

The Taliban stance is further complicated by its lack of recognition from the international community, primarily due to its systematic oppression of women and girls. No country has granted formal diplomatic recognition to the Islamic Emirate since its 2021 takeover, with ongoing human rights violations cited as the central obstacle.

Niazi called for consistent diplomatic and economic pressure on the Taliban, advocating for increased funding to alternative education programs, including online learning and cross-border initiatives.

The Afghan Times editor also stressed that “global media, like Arab News, play a crucial role in keeping this issue visible,” while “neighboring countries and Islamic leaders could leverage their influence to advocate for change, framing education as a religious and moral imperative.”

Ahmad criticized what she believes to be the international community’s selective engagement. “When there is a perceived threat to ‘Western’ populations, it is justified to intervene, even if that intervention destroys generations of lives and hope,” she said.

“Yet when there is a structurally violent threat to girls through the institution of education, there is global silence. This is another form of violence.”

She urged nations to prioritize a unified response to ensure educational equality, warning that the continued ban on girls’ education could mean Afghanistan’s “destruction.”

Indeed, she added: “Nothing can be created without education.”