The Taliban, the de facto regime of Afghanistan, has banned women from universities, sparking international condemnation. A repressive announcement was made on Tuesday, saying it would be put into effect immediately.
Following last year’s ban, which already excluded girls from secondary school, will further restrict women’s education and exacerbate their condition.
The letter issued to all government and private universities, signed by Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Minister for Higher Education, stated: “You are all informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending education until further notice.”
The United Nations (UN) and several other countries have condemned the order. UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk described the decision as “another appalling and cruel blow to the rights of Afghan women and girls and a deeply regrettable setback for the entire country.”
#Afghanistan: Banning women from attending university is another appalling and cruel blow to the rights of Afghan women & girls, and a deeply regrettable setback – @volker_turk calls for the decision to be reversed for the sake of all Afghan society: https://t.co/gfwLdrUrvA pic.twitter.com/lKepnmsyHN
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) December 21, 2022
Since the de facto authorities took control of Afghanistan, women have been systematically excluded from public spaces. They halted secondary education for girls, then the movement of women and girls was restricted, and finally, employment was restricted over the course of a year and a half. And now, a further low.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “It’s another very troubling move, and it’s difficult to imagine how a country can develop, can deal with all of the challenges that it has without the active participation of women and their education.” (Aljazeera)
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated: “Preventing half of the population from contributing meaningfully to society and the economy will have a devastating impact on the whole country.”
It has further been flagged that a series of such regressive measures would bring international isolation and economic hardship to Afghanistan.