By Stephanie Nebehay (Reuters) -A total of 41 donor countries pledged more than $2.44 billion towards the United Nations $4.4 billion appeal for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, the world body said on Thursday, as international concerns grew over the Taliban denying girls a secondary education. Belgium’s minister of development cooperation Meryame Kitir said: “Education empowers women and girls and that’s what the Taliban are afraid of.” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the high-level conference urging donors to provide unconditional funding, saying that 9 million Afghans faced f…