Afghan women are protesting against Taliban university ban

A small group of Afghan women staged defiant protests in the capital Kabul and northern Takhar province on Thursday against a Taliban order banning them from universities. Taliban also arrested some of them in Kabul.

In the latest move to further restrict women’s rights to education, Taliban’s minister for higher education on Wednesday ordered all public and private universities to bar women from attending classes until further notice.

Soon after the decision, male students in Nangarhar and in Kandahar provinces abandoned their classes in solidarity with their female classmates. They also avoid writing any exams until female students are not attending.

The protestors in Kabul called for equal rights to both boys and girls. “They expelled women from universities. Oh, people support women’s rights. Education rights should be for everyone or no one,” the protesters were chanting.

Taliban detained some women demonstrators  

In a video clip, one of the protesters said that some of the girls were detained by the Taliban. “Five female demonstrators were arrested by the Taliban,” a female demonstrator told Harici. Three reporters covering the event were also detained. Two of the girls were later released while the Taliban still took the three others in custody.

“Taliban started beating the women demonstrators. They also threatened to kill us if we don’t stop the demonstration,” she added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Taliban closed the schools, everyone remained silent, they closed universities, yet again everyone is silent, and now they’ve come and closed our courses. What are we supposed to do? Kill ourselves?” a group of devastated Afghan girls said in a footage.

A small group of women also staged a protest in Takhar province after the Taliban stopped them from entering the university campus.

A video circulating on social media showed that Taliban drenched a young woman in Takhar with water from a fire engine as she was protesting against banning universities. “Death to Taliban, death to the men of Afghanistan, death to the international community that cannot defend us and our rights,” the footage showed the female student as saying.

Guards stopped hundreds of women from entering universities, a day after the nationwide ban on women attending university was announced. Photo: AFP

The National Students Movement (NSM) of the National Democratic Movement in Pakistan also protested on Thursday at Agriculture University in Peshawar against the Taliban banning Afghan women from universities.

Mohsin Dawar, a member of the national assembly of Pakistan said that NSM held a similar protest at Islamia College on Wednesday and NSM will hold a protest in Quetta tomorrow (Friday).

Taliban breaks silence on university ban

In the wake of global outcry against Taliban’s decision to ban women from university, Taliban’s Minister of Higher Education said that that decision was adopted after the students did not follow Taliban’s instructions over the past 16 months.

In an interview with RTA, the Taliban-run TV channel, Neda Mohammad Nadim put four reasons for university closures for girls; “girl’s hostels, traveling of students without male guardians, non-adherence of hijab and persistent of mixed classes.” Nadim also said that of the 160 subjects taught at universities, many were in contravention of Islam and Afghan dignity.

Since the Taliban seized power last year, have banned teenage girls from secondary school, pushed out many women from government jobs, prevented them from traveling without a male relative and ordered women to cover up outside of the home, ideally with burqa (hijab).

Taliban’s ban on women education against Islam

Following the news on prohibition of girls from higher education, the international community, including Islamic nations has slammed the decision by the Taliban and most have called on the group to reverse the ruling.

Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the “Taliban’s decision to ban women from universities in Afghanistan has no basis in Islam.”

While terming the ban as a serious source of concern, Cavusoglu said that “this ban is neither Islamic nor humanistic.” He further went on saying that Islam encourages education, and reiterated Turkey’s support to the women’s and girls’ rights to education.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and the High Representative of the European Union strongly condemned Taliban’s decisions to ban women from universities.

They also lamented the Taliban’s decisions to continue bar girls from secondary schools, and to impose other harsh restrictions on the ability of women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

“The Taliban’s oppressive measures against Afghan girls and women have been relentless and systemic. Over the last 16 months, the Taliban have issued no fewer than 16 decrees and edicts that, among other things, constrain women’s mobility, remove women from places of work, require head-to-toe coverings for women, ban women from using public spaces such as parks and gyms and leave widows and women-headed households in dire circumstances by the requirement of male guardianship,” the foreign ministers said in a joint statement.

Taliban urged to respect education for women and girls  

These top officials of the several foreign countries also said that these policies make clear the Taliban’s disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Afghanistan.

“Afghan women’s ingenuity and dynamism are needed urgently to help relieve profound and staggering economic and humanitarian needs. A stable, economically viable, and peaceful Afghanistan is only attainable and sustainable if all Afghans, including women and girls, can fully, equally, and meaningfully participate in and contribute to the country’s future and development,” they added.

They urged the Taliban to immediately abandon the new oppressive measures with respect to university education for women and girls and to, without delay, reverse the existing decision to prohibit girls’ access to secondary school.

The UK’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, condemned the order, and said that “As a father to daughters, I cannot imagine a world in which they’re denied an education. The women of Afghanistan have so much to offer. Denying them access to university is a grave step backwards. The world is watching. We will judge the Taliban by their actions.”