After the Taliban banned women from all universities in Afghanistan on Tuesday, dozens of girls demonstrated in Kabul against the ban. According to media reports, Taliban security forces prevented female students from entering the university campus. Turkey is also appalled by the new measures – they are demanding the lifting of the university ban.
It seems that all avenues to formal education for women are closed. The ban caused some women to dare to protest in the streets on Wednesday. As TV channel Tolonews reported Thursday, female students marched through a neighborhood in western Kabul shouting protest slogans. According to eyewitness reports, individual protesters and journalists were also briefly arrested.
Also Nangarhar Medical University students refused to take exams in protest of the university’s ban on women. Three university lecturers are also said to have resigned in protest.
Women are largely excluded from public life
The Taliban, which began as a radical Islamist militant group, pledged to respect women’s rights when they returned to power in August last year. However, this was not the case – since the takeover of power, the Islamists have massively restricted women’s rights. Girls and women are largely excluded from public life. Even before the new ban, the rights of women at universities were drastically restricted: they had to use separate entrances, were not allowed to sit in lecture halls with male students and were only allowed to be taught by women or old men.
“This prohibition is neither Islamic nor humane”
Turkey has asked the Taliban to lift a ban on women studying in Afghanistan. “This ban is neither Islamic nor humane,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters on Thursday. “We don’t think it’s right. God willing, the Taliban will reverse that decision. What harm does education for women do to humanity?” he asked.
Turkey demands lifting of university ban
Muslim-majority Turkey is the only NATO member to keep its embassy in Kabul open after the Taliban came to power in August 2021. On Tuesday, the Afghan minister of higher education issued a letter directing all public and private universities to implement a decree suspending education for women.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
