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Afghanistan: Ban on women education brutal and injustice

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Taliban banned university education for women across Afghanistan, provoking condemnation from all segments of Afghan societies as well as foreign countries, and the United Nations over another assault on human rights.

Despite promising a softer rule when the Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021, they have ratcheted up restrictions on all aspects of women’s lives, ignoring international outrage as well as Afghan women howl for fundamental rights to education and work.

“You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice,” the Ministry of Higher Education said in a letter issued to all government and private universities.

The Taliban has not given a reason for the ban, but confirmed that this letter suspending university level education for women until further notice is authentic.

Tuesday’s decision by the Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers come as part of their continued crush on women’s right to education and freedom as most teenage girls across the country have already been banned from secondary school education since last year.

Taliban security forces on Wednesday morning immediately approached universities across Kabul, and provinces to implement the degree and enforced a ban on higher education for women by blocking their access inside the universities. Taliban forces heavily guarded four universities in Kabul, and stopped some women from entering inside the buildings. Some female students wept and consoled each other outside one of the Kabul campuses.

A Spokesman for Kabul University, Rahimullah Nadeem, confirmed that classes for women had stopped, and some women were allowed to enter the campus for some administrative work only.

Taliban not keeping promises on women’s rights

Despite initially promising a more moderate approach, respecting rights for women and girls’ and to let them study and work, Taliban reacted exactly on the opposite side, said a former female lawmaker in the previous Afghan parliament.

“During the negotiations, the Taliban members promised to us and to the world that women can become government officials, able to work in private and social sectors, go to universities and schools, but now that situation is different,” Fawzai Koofi, who was also a member of Afghan peace team, told Harici.

Fawzai Koofi, a former female lawmaker in the Afghan parliament.

Koofi furthered that in contrast to what they have promised, “Taliban now become more oppressive and tougher everyday on their policies towards women and the last nail on the coffin of women’s right was banning girls from education and universities.”

The Taliban don’t see any obligation or any accountability towards human rights at all, and the world, which has been engaged with the Taliban, and giving them money, is also not serious in this issue, according to her.

Human rights and women’s rights are not the priority for the world either because they are giving money to the Taliban and allowing them to travel. The world has only a security-centric approach in engagement with the Taliban, she added.

“The time is ripe for putting a real pressure on Taliban, including meaningful and condition based sanctions, travel ban, and also its time for the people of Afghanistan to stand. I am surprised that the parents really didn’t react and they are silent,” Koofi added.

World urges Taliban to reverse university ban decision

The United Nations and several countries, including the US, EU, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan have condemned the order, which takes Afghanistan back to the Taliban’s first period of rule when girls could not receive formal education.

“A new law further violates the right to equal education and deepens the erasure of women from Afghan society,” the UN’s Special Rapporteur to Afghanistan said.

Strongly condemning the Taliban’s decision to suspend higher education for Afghan women, Tomas Niklasson, Special Envoy of the European Union for Afghanistan said that “gender persecution is a crime against humanity.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken late Tuesday said that no other country in the world bars women and girls from receiving an education. “The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan,” he warned. This decision will come with consequences for the Taliban.

Meanwhile, US Chargé d’Affaires to Afghanistan, Karen Decker called on the Afghan men to stand up with Afghan women, emphasizing that “now is the time. What are you waiting for?”

“They are failing their children and grandchildren, but I promise you this: America will not give up its advocacy for Afghan women and girls and will continue to look for ways to offer Afghan girls (and boys) the future Afghan men seem determined to erase,” Decker said.

Decker used “incomprehensible, indefensible and anti-Islamic” words to describe the Minister of Higher Education’s decree suspending education for Afghan girls.

Islamic countries said education is a fundamental human right

Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the four Muslim countries, have expressed their disappointment at the university ban and called on the Taliban to reconsider their decision.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said that the Taliban’s ban on university education for women is contradictory to “giving Afghan women their full legal rights, foremost of which is the right to education, which contributes to supporting security, stability, development and prosperity for Afghanistan and its brotherly people.”

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said that Doha expresses deep concern and disappointment with the Afghan caretaker government’s decision to suspend girls’ and women’s studies in Afghan universities.

“As a Muslim country in which women enjoy all their rights, especially education, the State of Qatar calls on the Afghan caretaker government to review its decision in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion concerning women’s rights.”

Turkey also voiced concern about the Taliban’s decision to ban women from attending universities, emphasizing that education is a fundamental human right that all should benefit from it without discrimination. Turkey called on the Taliban to review the decision and take necessary steps about it.

Pakistan Foreign Minister said that Islamabad was disappointed to learn about the suspension of university and higher education for female students in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan’s position on this issue has been clear and consistent. We strongly believe that every man and woman has the inherent right to education in accordance with the injunctions of Islam. We strongly urge the Afghan authorities to revisit this decision,” Pakistan FM said.

Afghan politicians, including former President Hamid Karzia, ex-appointed man for peace and reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah and several other officials called on the Taliban to reopen universities for women.

Women persisting the ban

A number of women staged protests in the capital Kabul, in eastern Nangarhar and some other provinces against the Taliban’s decision to ban them from going to universities.

Protesters from the Afghanistan Women’s Unity and Solidarity group said they came out on the streets of Kabul to raise their voices against the closure of the girls’ universities.

“Don’t let our education be political. Don’t make education political,” the small demonstrations were chanting in Kabul before being dispersed by the Taliban members.

The women called the silence of the international community “shameful.”

“In Islam, education is a divine command for both men and women, who are the Taliban to take this right from us,” said a university student in Kabul.

Meanwhile, male students in Nangarhar University staged a protest alongside women against the Taliban’s decision on  girl’s education. The students also walked away from their exam in a show of solidarity with the female students and said they will not write any exam until their female classmates are not attending.

Following Nangarhar, male students in Kandahar also walked away from their exam in a show of solidarity with the female students.

Numerous lecturers from different universities in Afghanistan have also resigned from their jobs in protest of the Taliban ban on women and girl’s university education.

Afghan cricket players annoyed by university closures

Many players of the Afghan National Cricket Team on Wednesday took to social media to vent their anger over Taliban’s decision over suspending girls’ and women’s education in universities.

Former National Cricket team captain, Mohammad Nabi said that Afghanistan has a vital need for women’s education, and Afghanistan’s future can only be guaranteed by educated men and women.

Afghan cricket players, (R) Mohammad Nabi and (L) Rashid Khan.

Afghan National Cricket team star, Rashid Khan said that a “woman is a teacher and educator of generations,” and said that “education is obligatory to men and women.”

Another cricket player, Hazratullah Zazai called on the authorities to not deprive “this (women) oppressed group of humanity” from their right to education.”

Gulbuddin Naib, the National team’s all-rounder said that “learning knowledge is a duty for both men and women.”

“We highly support the call of our sisters and women for reopening schools and universities,” said national team’s star Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

In March, the Taliban drew criticism from many Afghan families and the foreign governments for making a U-turn on a previous commitment to open educational institutions to girls beyond grade six. Instead, on the first day of the new school year, the Taliban announced that high schools would remain closed for girls until further notice.

Besides exclusion for girls from secondary school and universities, the Taliban also banned women from parks and gyms.

 

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5 points in the indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani

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The indictment of Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, Asia’s second richest man, on bribery charges in a U.S. federal court on Wednesday shocked India.

The charges put his empire under renewed scrutiny less than two years after allegations of financial irregularities by short-seller Hindenburg Research wiped $130bn off the group’s public market value.

Who is Gautam Adani?

Gautam Adani is the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, which has interests in renewable energy, ports, airports, construction materials, food and media. He is often referred to as ‘Number 1’ and ‘Big Man’ by other defendants in the case.

Adani, 62, from a middle-income textile family in the western Indian state of Gujarat, set up his group in 1988 to trade in commodities. Over time, Adani grew his business through an aggressive leverage strategy, moving into many sectors critical to the country’s infrastructure. The group was worth around $170 billion before the indictment led to the sale of its listed assets.

Adani’s rise mirrors that of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself from Gujarat. Modi’s political opponents have often claimed that Modi has favored the billionaire, as Adani has benefited greatly from the tenders it has won for public projects thanks to the Modi government’s infrastructure development drive. Both Adani and the government have denied any special treatment.

What are the charges?

U.S. prosecutors allege that Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six other defendants conspired to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure ‘lucrative solar power supply contracts’. The defendants also allegedly ‘concealed’ the bribes from U.S.-based investors in order to ‘obtain billions of dollars in financing’.

The bribery scheme, dubbed the ‘Corrupt Solar Power Project’ in the indictment, centered on numerous solar power contracts awarded by the state-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India to Adani’s renewable energy unit and another Indian company, Azure Power.

Adani and others have also been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with making ‘materially false or misleading’ statements about anti-bribery practices when raising $750 million from investors in September 2021, including $175 million from U.S. investors.

How will the indictment affect the Group’s business?

Following the indictment, 11 of the conglomerate’s twelve companies collectively lost around $27 billion in value on Thursday, a repeat of the collapse in January 2023, when Hindenburg Research accused the group of stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens, among other allegations.

Shares in holding company Adani Enterprises fell more than 22%, while shares in Adani Green Energy, the focus of the investigation, fell nearly 19%. Only New Delhi Television (NDTV), the news media arm of the conglomerate, closed marginally higher. Shares in most Adani companies continued to fall in early trading on Friday.

“The indictment could affect Adani’s upcoming fundraising plans. Adani Green Energy has reportedly cancelled the sale of $600 million in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. The biggest short-term impact of this development is that the Adani Group may find it difficult to raise new funds, especially from leading financial institutions, until its name is cleared,” said Abhishek Basumallick, founder of investment advisory firm Intelsense.

Late on Thursday, Kenyan President William Ruto said he was cancelling Adani’s purchase of a controlling stake in the country’s main airport and a $736 million public-private partnership with the company to build power transmission lines.

How have the Adani Group and the Indian government responded?

In a statement on Thursday, the Adani Group rejected the charges in the indictment, calling them ‘baseless’.

As the U.S. Department of Justice has stated, the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty,’ the group said in a statement: ‘All available legal remedies will be pursued.

There has been no official reaction from the Indian government.

Jaideep Mazumdar, Joint Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, declined to comment when asked about the Adani issue during a press conference on Modi’s visit to Guyana in South America. “This is a press conference organised for the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Guyana and the India-CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Summit, and I am not in a position to respond to questions beyond this mandate,” he said in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown.

Modi’s political rivals have launched a series of attacks on the billionaire.

Rahul Gandhi, senior leader of the Indian National Congress, said at a press conference on Thursday: “Adani has in a way taken over India; the country is in the grip of Adani. So, India’s airports, ports, defence industry… it is a partnership. Modi is on one side of the partnership and Adani is on the other,” he said.

Gandhi is also the leader of the opposition in the lower house of parliament and is in a powerful position to have a say in the appointment of a director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the country’s anti-crime agency. Gandhi said his party would raise Adani’s charges in the winter session of parliament, which begins on Monday.

Is extradition expected to come up?

There is an ongoing investigation into Adani, launched last year by India’s securities regulator in the wake of the Hindenburg Research allegations.

Lawyers in India and the U.S. have said that U.S. prosecutors may seek the extradition of Adani and other defendants in the latest charges. The two countries have had an extradition treaty in place since 1997.

Prashant Mendiratta, a lawyer at the Delhi High Court, said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs would be the primary decision-maker if the U.S. government made an extradition request.

“If the Indian government refuses extradition, the prosecution can approach the Indian judiciary with a petition against the decision … there is a high probability that this will turn into a two-front legal battle,” Mendiratta added.

The Indo-U.S. extradition treaty also stipulates that an offence must be punishable by imprisonment of one year or more before extradition can be granted. Under India’s Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Act, bribery is only punishable by up to one year in prison.

The more stringent Prevention of Corruption Act (PoCA) can also be applied in this case.

However, for the PoCA to apply, it must be proven that a bribe was solicited and accepted by the government official.

“Obviously we are aware of these allegations,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing on Thursday when asked if the U.S. was concerned that the charges against Adani could damage bilateral relations: “What I would say is that we believe that the relationship between the United States and India rests on an extremely strong foundation based on the relationship between our peoples and cooperation on the full range of global issues.”

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Trump’s trade stance pushes Asian countries toward regional alliances

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Asian countries are responding to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist rhetoric by placing greater emphasis on regional and bilateral trade agreements aimed at promoting transnational economic cooperation without U.S. involvement, analysts say.

After being sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2024, Trump made tariffs a cornerstone of his campaign, pledging to impose duties of up to 20% on U.S. imports across the board, as well as a 60% tariff on Chinese goods.

At the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Peru, leaders from many of the 21 member economies called for greater regional economic integration as geopolitical tensions rise and supply chains become increasingly fragile.

China signed a stronger trade agreement with Peru.

Indonesia finalized a trade deal with Canada.

Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, emphasized the importance of reviving the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area, an agreement still under negotiation among APEC economies.

“APEC is more important now than it was before,” Wong said, highlighting the urgency of collaboration.

Multilateral regional economic partnerships

Trade deals excluding Washington, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), are expected to become more vital for Asian countries in the coming years.

“This will help us manage some of the chaos and damage from the collapsing global system,” said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation, an Asia-based group promoting sustainable trade, in an interview with Nikkei Asia.

The RCEP, a trade agreement involving 15 Asia-Pacific countries—including China, Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN members—was signed in November 2020 after eight years of negotiation. Together, these countries account for roughly 30% of global GDP.

In 2017, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), leaving Japan to lead the revised agreement. Renamed the CPTPP, the 11-member group, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam, is entering its sixth year. Trade between members rose 5.5% between 2018 and 2021. The United Kingdom joined in December, while China has expressed interest in becoming a member.

Given Trump’s anti-globalization stance, analysts suggest that Japan should expand the CPTPP by adding members and deepening cooperation with the European Union.

A Chinese delegate at APEC remarked, “At the end of the day, we have many trading partners.”

However, China’s own economic policies could pose challenges to regional trade cooperation.

Priyanka Kishore, founder of consultancy Asia Decoded, emphasized that China must boost domestic consumption and increase imports to strengthen regional trade.

“China has a crucial role to play in supporting the region’s external demand,” Kishore told Nikkei Asia, adding, “It needs to do more if it wants to be the champion of intra-regional trade.”

Finding new trading partners could take years

Higher U.S. tariffs could hit Asian economies hard, particularly those with trade-to-GDP ratios exceeding 100%, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Currently, only Singapore and South Korea have free trade agreements with the U.S.

Tariffs, paid by importers in the U.S. and collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, raise costs that are often passed on to consumers. However, they also hurt foreign exporters by making their goods less competitive.

According to research by Yang Zhou, an economist at Fudan University, the U.S.-China trade war cost China $35 billion, and the U.S. $15 billion in 2018 alone.

A study by Global Trade Alert, an independent organization monitoring world trade policies, explored how Asian countries might cope with losing access to the U.S. market. It concluded that it would take these countries an average of five years to establish new trade partnerships.

For countries like Thailand, the timeline could extend to 24 years, as they shift trade to China, the EU, Vietnam, and Japan. For South Korea, it might take until 2038 to fully replace the U.S. as a trading partner.

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China resumes visa-free travel for Japanese citizens

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China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that the government will waive visa requirements for Japanese citizens traveling to the country starting 30 November.

Japan now joins a group of European countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia, that have been added to China’s visa-free travel list. This arrangement will remain in effect until the end of next year.

The latest exemptions bring the total number of eligible countries to 38. Additionally, Beijing has extended the visa-free stay duration from 15 to 30 days.

This decision follows a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Peru last week. Both leaders agreed to cooperate based on their “common strategic interests.”

China had suspended visa exemptions for Japanese and other travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since lifting its zero-COVID policy in 2023, Beijing has reinstated visa-free entry for dozens of countries in Europe and Southeast Asia. However, Japanese citizens still required visas for stays of 15 days or less—until now.

Japanese authorities have been urging Beijing to relax visa policies, aiming to facilitate travel for business and leisure. While this latest move simplifies access, it remains unclear if it will lead to a substantial rise in Japanese visitors to China, given ongoing challenges such as the weak yen, which has dampened outbound travel from Japan.

Conversely, Chinese citizens traveling to Japan must still obtain visas, a policy that predates the pandemic. According to Japanese media, Tokyo is not planning to offer reciprocal visa-free travel to China but is considering simplifying visa procedures to ease the process for Chinese visitors.

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