Taliban banning education for women – Global Responses
Even though the Taliban insisted they understood their obligation under Islamic law to educate both boys and girls, a law was issued that forbade girls older than eight from attending school. Maulvi Kalamadin stated that the ban was only temporary and that after facilities and street security were changed to avoid cross-gender contact, women will resume their education and employment.
Before asking an ulema body to decide on the substance of a new curriculum to replace the Islamic, but unsatisfactory Mujahadin version, the Taliban wanted complete control over Afghanistan. The Taliban initially implemented gender segregated university classrooms as long as they "respected Islamic principles" after seizing power in Afghanistan in August 2021. They only permitted boys to return to school at the time, prohibiting the majority of teenage girls from returning to secondary school. They further forbade Afghan women from working in the majority of fields outside from health and education. Women have been told to hide their faces in public and are not allowed to travel alone more than 45 miles (70 km) away. Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban's solitary leader, reacted angrily to foreign criticism and demands regarding the group's limits on human rights in July 2022. He rejected any negotiations or compromises regarding his "Islamic system" of rule. The Taliban regime has officially banned women from attending universities and have forbade them from working for non-governmental organisations as of December 2022.
Statement by the Taliban:
Universities in Afghanistan were compelled to establish new regulations following the hardline Islamists' takeover of Afghanistan in August of 2021. The ban by the Taliban that prohibits access to higher education was brought in to effect in less than three months of thousands of female students taking entrance tests for attending universities with hopes of pursuing a career in the field of medicine and engineering. These regulations included gender-segregated classrooms and entrances, and women were only allowed to be taught by female professors or elderly males [1].
There is no opposition to the country's restriction on women attending universities, according to Nida Mohammad Nadim, the acting minister of higher education in Afghanistan appointed by the Taliban [2]. Nadim made the declaration while speaking to a gathering of representatives from private universities. Nadim stated that there has been no objection to the education of girls as per the new directive of the ministry. He added that the Taliban wants to create a system that adheres to Afghan principles and Islamic Sharia law rather than opposing the education of the next generation. He further mentioned about the creation of a joint committee between the ministry of education and university academics as a reminder that these sectors should prepare in compliance with the legal requirements of the ministry.
The situation for women under Taliban rule:
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban seized power in the nation, and since then, there have been progressively increasing numbers of human rights abuses against women and girls. The Taliban have consistently kept their commitment to keeping women and girls out of public life despite earlier assurances that they would be permitted to practice their human rights under Sharia law, including the freedom to work and study.
Naheed Farid, a former member of the Afghan parliament, has referred to the current political climate as "gender apartheid." [3] Women were required to cover their faces in public by order of the group's Supreme Leader in May 2021, and they were also told to stay inside their houses unless absolutely necessary. In September 2021, the so-called "morality police" took the position of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, essentially ending women's entitlement to political engagement. A further outrageous violation of women's rights was committed on December 24, four days after the Taliban forbade women and girls from attending universities when the acting minister of economy issued a letter prohibiting women from working for international and national NGOs [4]. This double blow prevented many women from earning a living and prevented the provision of essential life-saving services.
Tens of millions of Afghans who require humanitarian aid, particularly women and children, would suffer tragic consequences as a result of the prohibition since female aid workers are essential to the process of identifying needs, developing humanitarian interventions, and putting those plans into action. It clearly goes against the non-discriminatory principle that ought to underpin all humanitarian help.
Worldwide Reactions:
The Taliban most recently released two Americans after holding them for weeks. A videographer who had been recording in the region where a U.S. drone operation had killed the leader of al-Qaeda was one of the men jailed during the summer [5]. The Biden administration praised the release while simultaneously harshly criticizing the prohibition on education. The prohibition is "indefensible," Thomas West, the Special Envoy for Afghanistan, cautioned in a tweet, and he urged people to band together to oppose it. Further, the U.S. National Academies made a statement saying that the Taliban’s ban is ignorant of the evidence around the advantages of education for women in their society highlighting that it will have potentially disastrous consequences [6]. While the Taliban continues to tighten its restrictions on civil and human rights, the fundamental concerns of U.S. recognition and sanctions remain unresolved.
During a United Nations Security Council meeting to address Afghanistan, the representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom in New York denounced the action. The Taliban, according to Robert Wood, the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN, cannot be considered a legitimate member of the world community unless they respect the rights of all Afghans, particularly the fundamental freedoms and human rights of women and girls [7].
According to British UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward, the ban is yet another outrageous restriction on women's rights and a huge disappointment for every single female student. She continued in the Council by stating that it is another move by the Taliban against an independent and prosperous Afghanistan. The decision was denounced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as an "extremely worrying" action and another "broken promise" by the Taliban. He continued by saying that without the active engagement of women and education, it is hard to understand how a nation can progress and handle all of its problems.
India expressed its "alarm" over the Taliban's proclamation prohibiting women from attending universities in Afghanistan and reminded the Taliban of UN Security Council Resolution 2593, which had called for the protection of women's rights in Afghanistan [8]. India has always backed the cause of women's education in Afghanistan, according to Arindam Bagchi, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. He further stated that India has highlighted the significance of putting in place a democratic, inclusive administration that upholds the rights of all Afghans and guarantees the equality of women and girls to participate in all facets of Afghan society, including access to higher education.
Following the news, women from all around the nation who spoke with RFE/Radio RL's Azadi reported a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness. The right to study and the right to freedom have both been taken away by the Taliban, according to Najiba, a second-year law student at Bamiyan University in central Afghanistan [9]. A medical student from the northern Kunduz Province named Tamana Azizi told over the phone that her hopes of becoming a doctor to care for her community had been dashed. She stated she feels sorry as the female students are being prohibited from universities because closing the doors to college for them means losing all hopes and aspirations for the future. In the northern Parwan Province, Farhat Rahmani, a journalism student, told Radio Azadi over the phone that she felt "destroyed as she won't ever be able to continue her education. She further remarked that none of the promises that the Taliban made were kept.
The highest-ranking UN delegation to visit Afghanistan since the Taliban took over in 2021 was Amina Mohammad [10]. The UN's top female official, was sent by the secretary general of the organization together with a delegation that included included Sima Bahous, the head of UN Women. One official who has been frequent participant during the discussions to balance the demands of the Taliban leadership with international standards on human rights stated that traumatizing and painful debates about issues regarding women has better possibilities of being discussed if there are women present in the room during discussions.
Conclusion:
The Taliban disagree on the subject of girls' education. They must be taught in conformity with Islamic law, the organisation has stated repeatedly, but without providing further details. According to the BBC, the choice to send the girls home was based on their school uniforms [11]. Since the Taliban assumed power, a number of other issues have been raised, including the curriculum, how to get girls to school, and gender segregation. Girls would be taught separately when they returned to school and exclusively by female teachers, a senior education official announced in mid-March of 2022. He stated older male teachers might be permitted to educate females in some remote regions where there is a paucity of female teachers.
The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021 effectively halted the advancements made over the previous 20 years, and it led to the exclusion of women and girls from Afghan public life. The Taliban’s promise that women would be free to "enjoy their rights within Sharia law," including the right to work and pursue education as of today has turned out to be hollow.
Endnotes:
1. Hikmat Noori and agencies in Kabul, “Taliban ban Afghan women form university education”, The Guardian, 20 December 2022 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/20/taliban-ban-afghan-women-university-education
2. “Taliban justifies women education ban amid criticism, say ‘no opposition’”, Live Mint, 2 December 2022 https://www.livemint.com/news/taliban-justifies-women-education-ban-amid-criticism-say-no-oposition-11671978071850.html
3. Fadeke Banjo, “These Reactions to the Taliban’s Ban on Women & Girls’ Education Show Why We Must All Speak Up”, Global Citizen, 06 January 2023 https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/afghanistan-taliban-ban-women-girls-education/
4. “Afghanistan: Taliban’s targeting of women and NGOs preventing delivery of life-saving assistance is deplorable, say UN experts”, Office of the High commissioner, United Nations Human Rights, 30 December 2022 https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/12/afghanistan-talibans-targeting-women-and-ngos-preventing-delivery-life-saving
5. Susannah George, “Taliban ban on higher ed for women stokes fears of end to all female schooling”, The Washington Post, 21 December 2022 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/21/taliban-ban-afghan-girls-women-education/
6. Statement, “Taliban’s Ban on Education for Afghan Women and Girls Will Have Potentially Disastrous Consequences, Say U.S. National Academies Presidents”, National Academies, 23 December 2022 https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2022/12/talibans-ban-on-education-for-afghan-women-and-girls-will-have-potentially-disastrous-consequences-say-u-s-national-academies-presidents
7. “U.S., Britain Condemn Taliban's Ban On Women Attending University In Afghanistan”, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, 20 December 2022 https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanitan-taliban-suspends-women-university-education-/32186103.html
8. Kallol Bhattacherjee , “India expresses concern over Taliban banning higher education for Afghan women”, The Hindu. 22 December 2022 https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-notes-with-concern-talibans-decision-to-ban-women-from-universities-in-afghanistan/article66292799.ece
9. “'A Bird With No Wings': Afghan Women React With Despair To Taliban's University Ban”, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty, 21 December 2022 https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-taliban-women-universtiy-ban-reaction/32187589.html
10. Lyse Doucet, “Afghanistan: UN's top women meet Taliban over female aid worker ban”, BBC, 18 January 2023 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64318669
11. Emma Batha, “Taliban U-turn leaves Afghan girls shut out of school”, Thomas Reuters Foundation, 23 March 2022 https://news.trust.org/item/20210831110425-cvykj
Pic Courtsey-Sohaib Ghyasi at unsplash.com
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