KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Taliban security forces Wednesday in the Afghan capital imposed a ban on higher education for women by blocking their access to universities, with video obtained by The Associated Press showing women crying and consoling outside a campus in Kabul.
A day earlier, the country’s Taliban leaders ordered women across the country to stop attending private and public universities with immediate effect and until further notice. The Taliban-led administration has not given a reason for the ban or reacted to the fierce and swift global condemnation of it.
Journalists saw Taliban forces outside four universities in Kabul on Wednesday. The forces prevented some women from entering, while allowing others to enter and complete their work. They also tried to prevent any photography, filming and demonstrations.
Kabul University spokesperson Rahimullah Nadeem confirmed that classes for female students had ceased. He said some women were allowed onto campus for administrative and administrative reasons, and four graduation ceremonies were held on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, members of an activist group called Afghan Women’s Unity and Solidarity gathered outside the private Edrak University in Kabul, chanting slogans in Dari.
“Don’t politicize education!” they said. “Once again the university is forbidden to women, we don’t want to be eliminated!”
Despite the initial promise of a more moderate rule respecting the rights of women and minorities, the Taliban have largely implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariasince taking power in August 2021.
They banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most fields of employment, and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gymnasiums.
A letter shared by Higher Education Ministry spokesperson Ziaullah Hashmi on Tuesday told private and public universities to implement the ban as soon as possible and notify the ministry once the ban is in place. .
The move will certainly hurt Taliban efforts to gain recognition from potential international donors at a time when Afghanistan is mired in a deepening humanitarian crisis. The international community has urged Taliban leaders to reopen schools and give women their right to public space.
US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken said Tuesday night that no other country in the world bars women and girls from getting an education.
“The Taliban cannot hope to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of everyone in Afghanistan,” he warned. “This decision will have consequences for the Taliban.”
Afghan political analyst Ahmad Saeedi said the Taliban authorities’ latest move may have closed the door to international acceptance.
“The issue of recognition is over,” he said. “The world is now trying to find an alternative. The world has tried to interact more but they (the Taliban) don’t let the world talk to them about recognition.
Saeedi said he thinks most Afghans are in favor of female education because they see learning as a religious commandment contained in the Quran.
He said the decision to bar women from universities was likely made by a handful of senior Taliban leaders, including leader Hibatullah Akhunzada, who are based in the southwestern city of Kandahar. , cradle of the Taliban movement.
He said the main center of power is Kandahar, rather than the Taliban-led government in Kabul, although ministers of justice, higher education and virtue and vice were also said to have been involved in the decision. ban women from universities.
UN experts said last month that the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan could amount to a crime against humanity and should be investigated and prosecuted under international law. .
They said the Taliban’s actions against women have compounded existing rights abuses – already the “most draconian in the world” – and could amount to gender-based persecution, which is a crime against humanity.
Taliban authorities denied the allegation.
A day earlier, the country’s Taliban leaders ordered women across the country to stop attending private and public universities with immediate effect and until further notice. The Taliban-led administration has not given a reason for the ban or reacted to the fierce and swift global condemnation of it.
Journalists saw Taliban forces outside four universities in Kabul on Wednesday. The forces prevented some women from entering, while allowing others to enter and complete their work. They also tried to prevent any photography, filming and demonstrations.
Kabul University spokesperson Rahimullah Nadeem confirmed that classes for female students had ceased. He said some women were allowed onto campus for administrative and administrative reasons, and four graduation ceremonies were held on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, members of an activist group called Afghan Women’s Unity and Solidarity gathered outside the private Edrak University in Kabul, chanting slogans in Dari.
“Don’t politicize education!” they said. “Once again the university is forbidden to women, we don’t want to be eliminated!”
Despite the initial promise of a more moderate rule respecting the rights of women and minorities, the Taliban have largely implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariasince taking power in August 2021.
They banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most fields of employment, and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gymnasiums.
A letter shared by Higher Education Ministry spokesperson Ziaullah Hashmi on Tuesday told private and public universities to implement the ban as soon as possible and notify the ministry once the ban is in place. .
The move will certainly hurt Taliban efforts to gain recognition from potential international donors at a time when Afghanistan is mired in a deepening humanitarian crisis. The international community has urged Taliban leaders to reopen schools and give women their right to public space.
US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken said Tuesday night that no other country in the world bars women and girls from getting an education.
“The Taliban cannot hope to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of everyone in Afghanistan,” he warned. “This decision will have consequences for the Taliban.”
Afghan political analyst Ahmad Saeedi said the Taliban authorities’ latest move may have closed the door to international acceptance.
“The issue of recognition is over,” he said. “The world is now trying to find an alternative. The world has tried to interact more but they (the Taliban) don’t let the world talk to them about recognition.
Saeedi said he thinks most Afghans are in favor of female education because they see learning as a religious commandment contained in the Quran.
He said the decision to bar women from universities was likely made by a handful of senior Taliban leaders, including leader Hibatullah Akhunzada, who are based in the southwestern city of Kandahar. , cradle of the Taliban movement.
He said the main center of power is Kandahar, rather than the Taliban-led government in Kabul, although ministers of justice, higher education and virtue and vice were also said to have been involved in the decision. ban women from universities.
UN experts said last month that the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan could amount to a crime against humanity and should be investigated and prosecuted under international law. .
They said the Taliban’s actions against women have compounded existing rights abuses – already the “most draconian in the world” – and could amount to gender-based persecution, which is a crime against humanity.
Taliban authorities denied the allegation.
