Women and girls in Afghanistan will no longer be allowed to attend University after the Taliban imposed a ban on their higher education.
When images emerged from Kabul in August of last year, showing streets flooded with people desperate to escape Afghanistan after it was seized by the Taliban, the future for women and girls in the country was uncertain. Immediately after taking control, the facades of buildings were painted over with a white wash of acrylic, painter desperate to remove the trace of any ads depicting the faces of women. Instantaneously, they wiped women from view and in the months that have elapsed since, they’ve wiped so many of their rights now, too.
The latest devastation for women and girls in Afghanistan comes as the Taliban announces they will no longer be permitted to attend university after the Taliban issued an order that will see them banned from attending all government and private universities. According to Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the minister for higher education, universities are now being “informed to implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice,” as explained in a letter.
Horrendous news for Afghan women and girls. The Taliban have announced the closure of universities for women in Afghanistan, according to a letter by the higher education minister. It is expected to take effect immediately pic.twitter.com/bVhXGXhYUg
— Yalda Hakim (@BBCYaldaHakim) December 20, 2022
The letter, which has since been revealed by journalists, is a horrifying revelation for women in the country. As Journalist Yalda Kahim tweeted: “Horrendous news for Afghan women and girls. The Taliban have announced the closure of universities for women in Afghanistan, according to a letter by the higher education minister. It is expected to take effect immediately.”
The ruling has been widely condemned by global audiences and government officials around the world. As Ned Price, US State Department spokesperson, was quick to voice: “This unacceptable stance will have significant consequences for the Taliban and will further alienate the Taliban from the international community and deny them the legitimacy they desire.”
So after almost 17 months of banning teenage girls from school. The Taliban decide to BAN women from universities too.
Afghanistan is the ONLY country in the world that bans women and girls from going to school & university.
This is a crime against humanity & it must not stand. pic.twitter.com/igK1wpg2n0
— Shabnam Nasimi (@NasimiShabnam) December 20, 2022
It’s a view that was further echoed by UN chief’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, who said the UN was “deeply concerned” by the order, going on to Tweet: “Education is a fundamental human right. A door closed to women’s education is a door closed to the future of Afghanistan.”
Similarly, the International Rescue Committee, who placed Afghanistan at the third spot in their 2023 Emergency Watchlist for global crises that are only expected to worsen in the coming months, also tweeted: “The closure of universities for women and girls is a chilling step backwards for Afghanistan. There are no two ways about it: women must be allowed to work and to move freely, and girls must be allowed to continue to go to school.”
Human Rights Watch have also expressed their grave concern for the situation, writing in a Tweet: “[The decision] is a shameful decision that violates the right to education for women and girls in Afghanistan. The Taliban are making it clear every day that they don’t respect the fundamental rights of Afghans, especially women.”
The ban serves as yet another restriction to the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls. Particularly disheartening is the fact that it comes less than three months since women and girls risked their lives just to sit the university entrance exams that would allow them to continue their education with further studies. These are women and young girls who desperately want an education, and understand that it holds the key to unlocking a brighter future.
As Malala Fund, the international NGO advocating for girls’ education co-founded by Malala Yousafzai, tweeted: “Young women are Afghanistan’s future – they are striving teachers, writers, doctors, business leaders and so much more. To crush the last hope they have of achieving their dream is cruel and it’s a loss for the world.”
