- Afghan Women Denied Scholarships Abroad
- Taliban’s Stricter Travel Restrictions for Afghan Women
- International Outrage and Calls for Support
“After the Taliban closed universities for women, my only hope was to obtain a scholarship to study abroad,” says Natkai, an Afghan student of 20 years old.
The name Natkai has been changed for her protection.
The Taliban have taken severe action against women who oppose them.
Natkai states that she continued to study even though there was little possibility of her attending university in her native country.
Emirati billionaire industrialist Sheikh Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor then awarded her a scholarship to attend the University of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The scholarships for Afghan women were declared in December 2022, following the Taliban’s ban on university enrollment for women.
A total of 100 Afghan women have been awarded these scholarships. Some international Afghan scholars have already visited Dubai.
On Wednesday, August 23, Natkai bid her family farewell and departed for the airport.
Her hopes were shortly dashed, however.
When the Taliban officials saw our tickets and student visas, they informed us that girls are not permitted to leave Afghanistan on student visas,” she says in a trembling voice.
Prevented from traveling
Natkai is among at least sixty females who were denied entry at the airport.
Photos depict young women wearing hijabs or headscarves in black standing next to their luggage in a state of astonishment and devastation.
The Taliban prohibits women from traveling abroad without their spouses or a close male relative, such as a brother, uncle, or father, known as a mahram, a male escort.
But even this was insufficient.
Natkai states, “Three girls with a mahram were on the plane.” However, officials from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue removed them from the aircraft.
The remaining pupils were too terrified to speak with the media.
Shams Ahmad, a young man who accompanied his sister to the airport and described her distress, accompanied her to the airport.
“The scholarship gave my sister renewed hope after the universities here closed.” “She left with optimism and returned in tears,” he explains. All of her privileges have been revoked.
Mr. Ahmad claims that some of the women borrowed money to pay for a male companion’s visa, but were still stopped.
“Some of these females are so vulnerable and impoverished. They lack even 400 Afghanis (£4; $5) to pay the foreign affairs ministry’s requested charge for document verification.”
Mr. Al Habtoor and the University of Dubai have verified that the girls were stopped.
Mr. Al Habtoor uploaded an English-language video message to X, formerly known as Twitter. In it, he criticizes the Taliban authorities and asserts that under Islam, men and women are equal.
The video also includes an English vocal message from an Afghan girl who was detained at the airport.
“We are currently at the airport, but the government does not permit us to travel to Dubai,” she says. “Even they prohibit those with a mahram. I have no idea what to do. Please assist us.”
The international response
The latest Taliban action has alarmed human rights organizations and diplomats.
Human Rights Watch’s Heather Barr describes the Taliban’s denial of girls and women’s access to education as a significant and alarming step beyond the extraordinary level of barbarism they have already demonstrated.
“They are being held captive to prevent others from assisting them in their studies.”
Shkula Zadran, the former Afghan youth representative to the United Nations, has posted a message urging the university not to give up on the females.
There has been no statement or clarification from the Taliban.
Mohammad Sadiq Akif Muhajir, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, said that he was unaware of the incident.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a senior Taliban spokesman, also declined to comment, citing his travels and lack of information.
Natkai is in a despondent condition.
She had just graduated from high school and was preparing for the university entrance exam on August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized power.
Natkai believed she had discovered a means to pursue her dreams. She claims that she has nothing to say to the Taliban because “they neither accept nor respect women.”
She urges the international community not to abandon Afghan females and their education.
“I lost this opportunity in a nation where being a girl is a crime. I am very depressed and unsure of what to do or what will happen next.”
