The Taliban’s ban on women attending universities in Afghanistan has sparked international censure and sorrow among the country’s youth.
The minister of higher education announced the reversal on Tuesday, stating that it will take effect immediately.
The ban significantly restricts women’s access to education; since the Taliban’s return last year, girls have been barred from secondary schools.
Wednesday, women protested in the capital city of Kabul.
Protesters from the Afghanistan Women’s Unity and Solidarity group stated, “Today we take to the streets of Kabul to voice our opposition to the closure of the girls’ universities.”
Taliban officials swiftly dispersed the minor demonstrations.
“They demolished the sole bridge that could have connected me to my future,” claimed a student at the University of Kabul.
“How should I react? They ruined my belief that I could improve my future or bring light into my life through education.”
She was a woman who had “lost everything.”
She had studied Islamic Sharia law and contended that the Taliban’s decree violated “the liberties that Islam and Allah have granted us.
She told, “They must travel to other Islamic countries to see that their activities are not Islamic.
The United Nations and several nations have criticized the decree, which reverts Afghanistan to the Taliban’s first period of control, during which girls were not permitted to receive formal education.
The UN’s Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan described it as a “new low” that violates the right to equal education and further marginalizes women in Afghan culture.
The United States stated that such a move would have “consequences for the Taliban.”
“Until the Taliban respect the rights of all Afghans, they cannot expect to be a genuine part of the international community,” stated Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.
“No nation can prosper if half its population is held back.”
Since the beginning of the year, Western nations have demanded that the Taliban enhance female education if they wish to be officially recognized as Afghanistan’s government.
However, the foreign minister of neighboring Pakistan stated that although being “disappointed” by the Taliban’s choice, he still favored engagement.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stated, “Despite several setbacks in terms of women’s education and other issues, I continue to believe that the simplest route to achieving our objective is through Kabul and the interim administration.”
The Taliban had promised a more lenient regime after capturing power in Afghanistan last year following the United States exit. However, Islamist extremists have continued to restrict the rights and liberties of women in the country.
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the head of the Taliban, and his inner circle have been opposed to modern education, especially for females and women.
Moderate officials have opposed this stance, and analysts say this topic has been a source of factionalism for the whole year.
Nonetheless, on Tuesday, the education ministry announced that its experts had examined the university’s curriculum and environment and that females’ enrollment would be suspended “until a proper environment is developed.”
It stated that it would soon establish such an environment and that “people need not be concerned.”
However, in March, the Taliban had pledged to reopen several secondary schools for girls, but on the day they were to return, they reneged on their commitment.
In addition, the crackdown follows a slew of additional limitations imposed on women in recent months. In the capital city, women were prohibited from parks, gyms, and public baths in November.
A university professor and Afghan activist in the United States stated that the Taliban had completed their isolating of women by suspending their access to higher education.
“This was the final option available to the Taliban. Afghanistan is not a nation for women, but rather a prison for them “According to Humaira Qaderi told.
Three months ago, the Taliban let thousands of girls and women take university entrance examinations in the majority of the country’s regions.
However, engineering, economics, veterinary science, and agriculture were forbidden, and journalism was severely restricted.
Since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, colleges had been operating under discriminatory norms for women before Tuesday’s decree.
There were gender-segregated entrances and classrooms, and only female professors or elderly males could instruct female students.
However, women continued to receive an education. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) reported on Tuesday that the rate of female participation in higher education has increased twentyfold between 2001 and 2018 – the period of Taliban control.
Several women told that “too many hurdles” caused them to give up once the Taliban retook power.
Issue splits Taliban
There have been rumors for almost a month that the Taliban administration will prohibit women from attending universities.
Several weeks ago, a female student made this prediction. She stated, “One day we will awaken to the news that women are forbidden from universities.”
Even while many Afghans may have anticipated that this choice will be made sooner or later, it nevertheless comes as a surprise.
The month prior, women were denied access to parks, gyms, and swimming pools. The Taliban regime did not fulfill its promise to establish secondary schools for girls in March of this year.
It is obvious from meetings with Taliban commanders over the past year that the Taliban are divided on the topic of girls’ education.
Members of the Taliban have regularly stated, off the record, that they are hopeful and trying to guarantee girls receive an education.
In 31 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, girls were permitted to sit for secondary school graduation examinations two weeks ago, even though they have not been permitted to attend school for more than a year.
This offered a glimpse of optimism, which is now extinguished.
