Despite initially promising a more moderate approach, respecting rights for women and girls\u2019 and to let them study and work, Taliban reacted exactly on the opposite side, said a former female lawmaker in the previous Afghan parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring 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,\u201d Fawzai Koofi, who was also a member of Afghan peace team, told Harici.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/koofi.jpg\")
Fawzai Koofi, a former female lawmaker in the Afghan parliament.<\/p><\/div>\n
Koofi furthered that in contrast to what they have promised, \u201cTaliban now become more oppressive and tougher everyday on their policies towards women and the last nail on the coffin of women\u2019s right was banning girls from education and universities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Taliban don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Human rights and women\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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\u2019t react and they are silent,\u201d Koofi added.<\/p>\n
World urges Taliban to reverse university ban decision <\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cA new law further violates the right to equal education and deepens the erasure of women from Afghan society,\u201d the UN’s Special Rapporteur to Afghanistan said.<\/p>\n Strongly condemning the Taliban\u2019s decision to suspend higher education for Afghan women, Tomas Niklasson, Special Envoy of the European Union for Afghanistan said that \u201cgender persecution is a crime against humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n US Secretary of State Antony Blinken late Tuesday said that no other country in the world bars women and girls from receiving an education. \u201cThe Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan,\u201d he warned. This decision will come with consequences for the Taliban.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, US Charg\u00e9 d’Affaires to Afghanistan, Karen Decker called on the Afghan men to stand up with Afghan women, emphasizing that \u201cnow is the time. What are you waiting for?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey 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,\u201d Decker said.<\/p>\n Decker used \u201cincomprehensible, indefensible and anti-Islamic\u201d words to describe the Minister of Higher Education\u2019s decree suspending education for Afghan girls.<\/p>\n Islamic countries said education is a fundamental human right<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s Foreign Ministry said that the Taliban\u2019s ban on university education for women is contradictory to \u201cgiving 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The Qatari Foreign Ministry said that Doha expresses deep concern and disappointment with the Afghan caretaker government\u2019s decision to suspend girls\u2019 and women\u2019s studies in Afghan universities.<\/p>\n \u201cAs 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\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Pakistan Foreign Minister said that Islamabad was disappointed to learn about the suspension of university and higher education for female students in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n \u201cPakistan\u2019s 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,\u201d Pakistan FM said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Women persisting the ban<\/strong><\/p>\n A number of women staged protests in the capital Kabul, in eastern Nangarhar and some other provinces against the Taliban\u2019s decision to ban them from going to universities.<\/p>\n Protesters from the Afghanistan Women\u2019s Unity and Solidarity group said they came out on the streets of Kabul to raise their voices against the closure of the girls\u2019 universities.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t let our education be political. Don\u2019t make education political,\u201d the small demonstrations were chanting in Kabul before being dispersed by the Taliban members.<\/p>\n The women called the silence of the international community \u201cshameful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn Islam, education is a divine command for both men and women, who are the Taliban to take this right from us,\u201d said a university student in Kabul.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, male students in Nangarhar University staged a protest alongside women against the Taliban\u2019s decision on\u00a0 girl\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Following Nangarhar, male students in Kandahar also walked away from their exam in a show of solidarity with the female students.<\/p>\n Numerous lecturers from different universities in Afghanistan have also resigned from their jobs in protest of the Taliban ban on women and girl\u2019s university education.<\/p>\n Afghan cricket players annoyed by university closures<\/strong><\/p>\n Many players of the Afghan National Cricket Team on Wednesday took to social media to vent their anger over Taliban\u2019s decision over suspending girls\u2019 and women’s education in universities.<\/p>\n Former National Cricket team captain, Mohammad Nabi said that Afghanistan has a vital need for women\u2019s education, and Afghanistan\u2019s future can only be guaranteed by educated men and women.<\/p>\n Afghan cricket players, (R) Mohammad Nabi and (L) Rashid Khan.<\/p><\/div>\n Afghan National Cricket team star, Rashid Khan said that a \u201cwoman is a teacher and educator of generations,\u201d and said that \u201ceducation is obligatory to men and women.\u201d<\/p>\n Another cricket player, Hazratullah Zazai called on the authorities to not deprive \u201cthis (women) oppressed group of humanity\u201d from their right to education.\u201d<\/p>\n Gulbuddin Naib, the National team\u2019s all-rounder said that \u201clearning knowledge is a duty for both men and women.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe highly support the call of our sisters and women for reopening schools and universities,\u201d said national team\u2019s star Rahmanullah Gurbaz.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Besides exclusion for girls from secondary school and universities, the Taliban also banned women from parks and gyms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1004,1005,910,503,1006],"class_list":["post-1993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","tag-education","tag-female-students","tag-government-policy","tag-headline","tag-rights-to-education"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Nabi-Rashid.jpg\")