Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have banned women from attending university across the country, prompting condemnation from the US and the UN for yet another violation of human rights.
Despite promising a softer rule when they took power last year, the Taliban have tightened restrictions on all aspects of women’s lives, ignoring international condemnation.
“You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice,” Minister for Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem said in a letter issued to all government and private universities.
The order was confirmed in a text message to AFP by the ministry’s spokesman, Ziaullah Hashimi, who tweeted the letter. The decision was “strongly condemned” by Washington.
“The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan. This decision will come with consequences for the Taliban,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“No country can thrive when half of its population is held back.” The ban has “deeply alarmed” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to his spokesman.
“The secretary-general reiterates that the denial of education not only violates the equal rights of women and girls, but will have a devastating impact on the country’s future,” Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The ban on higher education comes less than three months after thousands of girls and women across the country took university entrance exams, with many aspiring to careers in teaching and medicine. The universities are currently closed for the winter and will reopen in March.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, universities were forced to implement new rules, such as gender-segregated classrooms and entrances, and women were only permitted to be taught by women professors or old men.
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