With a single decision, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have shattered the dreams of a generation of women. The Islamist regime announced on her December 20th that it would ban women from attending college. This is in addition to previous decrees banning girls from enrolling in junior and senior high schools. “They destroyed the only bridge that connects me and my future,” the Kabul University student told his BBC.
Opinion | An Afghanistan women’s education ban shows the Taliban has not changed
When the Taliban first came to power in Afghanistan in 1996, they imposed a harsh version of Islamic law, or sharia, that kept women out of schools and workplaces and covered them in head-to-toe clothing. It was a singular achievement when she opened a college classroom for girls and women when the Taliban were ousted following the 9/11 attacks. Since 2001, she has completed her university degree in Pakistan, after which she became one of the most outspoken women in the Afghan parliament and a leading advocate for women’s rights. provided opportunities for women such as
Returning to power in August 2021 after a chaotic US withdrawal, the Taliban have promised to take a more moderate stance on running the country. it’s not. Shortly after the announcement, the young women saw the university gates slammed shut and Taliban guards blocking the way. Many of the educated Afghans who remained after the withdrawal and wanted change are now likely to flee. Higher Education Minister Nida Mohammad Nadim argued the ban was necessary to prevent gender mixing in universities, as he believed some of the subjects violated Islamic principles. This is Balder Dash. What has actually happened is that the hardliners with the toughest Pashtun village practices in the Taliban have won out over more moderate voices and factions.
Afghan women have held regular protests, but the Taliban have cracked down on such demonstrations in the past.The university ban feels like a point of no return. One Homeira Caderi told the BBC: “Afghanistan is not a country of women, it is a cage of women.” The Taliban’s decision drew condemnation from Muslim-majority Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavushoglu said it was “neither Islamic nor humane,” adding: “What harm is there in educating women? … Islam, our religion, is against education. On the contrary, we encourage education and science.”
On Saturday, the Taliban took another step to restrict women, barring them from working in domestic and foreign non-governmental organizations.
In September, the US said it would transfer about $3.5 billion in previously frozen central bank reserves in Afghanistan to a new Swiss fund to benefit the Afghan people while keeping them out of the Taliban’s reach. Afghanistan is still in an economic and humanitarian crisis and while these needs should be met, the United States and its allies should make no mistake. .