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.