Taliban bans women from attending university in Afghanistan

KABUL – The Taliban-led interim government in Afghanistan has banned women from receiving education at the country’s universities unit further notice.

The high education ministry of the country has issued a letter, instructing all Afghan public and private universities to suspend the education of female students immediately. It said the instructions have been issued in accordance with a Cabinet decision.

The spokesman for the ministry, Ziaullah Hashimi, who posted the letter on Twitter, confirmed the order to the international media outlets.

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 (@SkyYaldaHakim) December 20, 2022

The move has drawn massive criticism from the United Nations and the international community, with world leaders urging the Afghan Taliban to revisit their decision.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) shared the outrage of millions of Afghans and the international community over the decision by the Taliban de facto authorities to close universities to female students across the country.

The UN and its humanitarian partners also urged the Taliban authorities to reopen girls' schools beyond the sixth grade and end all measures preventing women and girls from participating fully in daily public life.

“Banning women from attending university is a continuation of the systematic policies of targeted discrimination put in place by the Taliban against women. Since 15 August 2021, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses. These restrictions culminate with the confinement of Afghan women and girls to the four walls of their homes,” read the statement.

The UN in Afghanistan and its humanitarian partners reminded the Taliban that taking away the free will of women to choose their own fate, disempowering and excluding them systematically from all aspects of their public and political life is regressive and stands against universal human rights standards upon which peaceful and stable societies are based on.