The Taliban regime has barred Afghan women from attending universities “with immediate effect,” a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Although the Taliban initially promised more moderate rule when they seized power in Afghanistan last year, amid power struggles and factional strife, they quickly returned to harsh and regressive interpretations of Islamic law.
Taliban decrees bar girls from attending middle and high school, deny women most jobs and require them to dress head to toe in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms.
On Tuesday, Ministry of Higher Education spokesman Ziaullah Hashmi directed private and public universities to impose a ban on women’s education as soon as possible and to inform the ministry as soon as the ban takes effect.
The ban on universities came just weeks after Afghan girls graduated from high school, despite being banned from attending classes since the Taliban took over the country last year.
Foreign governments, including the United States, have previously ruled out formal recognition of the Taliban-led government, which is also subject to harsh sanctions unless apostate changes to women’s rights and other human rights abuses are reversed.
“The Taliban cannot expect to become a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all Afghans, especially the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls,” said US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood. Advice. at a pre-scheduled meeting on Tuesday, calling the move “completely untenable.”
British Ambassador to the UN Dame Barbara Woodward said: “The Taliban continue to violate their obligations to the Afghan people. The suppression of human rights is widespread; Reports of honor killings, child marriages, floggings and executions have returned.
“In recent months, violations of the rights and freedoms of women and girls have sharply increased – already the most serious in the world.
“This policy represents a systematic attempt to eliminate women and girls from all areas of social, economic, political and public life.”
Human Rights Watch said: “This is an outrageous decision that violates the right of women and girls to education in Afghanistan. The Taliban make it clear every day that they do not respect the basic rights of Afghans, especially women.”
Source: I News
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