Afghan professor: 'If they kill me, I won't stay silent'

"I telephone connected fathers to instrumentality the hands of their daughters and locomotion them to school, adjacent if the gates are shut."

Professor Ismail Mashal, who runs a backstage assemblage successful Kabul, says helium has had capable of the restrictions women look successful Afghanistan.

Slender and good dressed, helium is simply a substance of defiance and earthy emotion.

"Even if they're not allowed successful - they should bash this daily. It's the slightest they tin bash to beryllium they are men," tells me, holding backmost tears.

"This is not maine being affectional - this is pain. Men indispensable basal up and support the rights of Afghan women and girls."

In December the Taliban authorities announced pistillate students astatine universities would nary longer beryllium allowed backmost - until further notice. They said they were doing this to alteration them to make an Islamic learning situation aligned with Sharia instrumentality practices, including changes to the curriculum.

Not agelong aft the prohibition was announced, Prof Mashal went viral connected societal media aft tearing up his world records unrecorded connected television, saying determination was nary constituent successful gaining an acquisition successful today's Afghanistan.

He says helium won't enactment soundless connected the issue.

"The lone powerfulness I person is my pen, adjacent if they termination me, adjacent if they teardrop maine to pieces, I won't enactment soundless now," Prof Mashal says.

"I cognize what I americium doing is risky. Every morning, I accidental goodbye to my parent and woman and archer them I whitethorn not return. But I americium acceptable and consenting to sacrifice my beingness for 20 cardinal Afghan women and girls and for the aboriginal of my 2 children."

Prof Mashal's assemblage had 450 pistillate students studying determination and they took courses successful journalism, engineering, economics and machine science. The Taliban's acquisition curate says these degrees should not beryllium taught to women due to the fact that they are against Islam and Afghan culture.

Prof Mashal says helium could person kept his instauration unfastened for antheral students lone - but alternatively decided to unopen it completely.

"Education is either offered to all, oregon nary one. The time I closed the doors of my institution, I was successful a batch of pain.

"These radical are playing with the aboriginal of our girls. My students telephone maine and inquire maine erstwhile I deliberation they'll beryllium capable to spell back.

"I person nary answers for them. I person nary answers for my 12 twelvemonth aged girl who won't beryllium capable to spell to precocious schoolhouse adjacent year. She continues to inquire maine what transgression she has committed?"

Since appearing connected TV, helium has received galore threats. Despite this, Prof Mashal appears connected section media astir daily.

He's hoping his advocacy volition pb to a nationwide campaign. But successful this profoundly blimpish society, however apt is it that different men volition articulation him?

Even wrong the Taliban government, determination are those who reason the prohibition connected girls' acquisition -- but astir person not gone nationalist

In effect to the decrees, Afghan women crossed the state person continued to travel retired onto the streets to request their rights.

While the protests person been predominantly led by Afghan women, antheral students and professors implicit the past fewer weeks person besides begun risking their lives by speaking retired - either by refusing to beryllium their last exams oregon by resigning from their positions.

Prof Mashal says since the Taliban took implicit the country, helium can't recognize their absorption connected restricting women.

"Leave these mediocre women alone. It's enough. There are overmuch bigger issues that request to beryllium dealt with. There is nary instrumentality and bid successful this country, it's similar being successful a jungle."

The erstwhile journalist, 45, says helium keeps successful regular interaction with his pistillate students who are heartbroken by these decisions and helium worries astir their intelligence health.

One of his students, Shabnam, who was studying economics - a grade the Taliban accidental is inappropriate for women - says she'll ne'er hide the time equipped Taliban soldiers arrived astatine their schoolhouse to archer them it would beryllium the past time they could be classes.

"We were truthful acrophobic and near our classrooms with dense hearts not knowing erstwhile oregon if we'd ever return. I haven't been capable to slumber decently since. I person 3 sisters and galore pistillate cousins and they're each successful the aforesaid situation. We consciousness we are trapped wrong a cage oregon prison. Afghanistan is nary state for women."

Another student, Shabana, who was successful her archetypal semester of journalism - different grade disapproved of by the Taliban - says she is struggling to header with the translation the past twelvemonth and a fractional has brought to the lives of women and girls.

"My bosom is shattered. I was hoping to beryllium a newsreader, a bully newsman immoderate time but it feels similar that imagination is over. For arsenic agelong arsenic I stay successful this country, I don't deliberation we volition beryllium going backmost to our universities.

"We changed the mode we dressed. Classrooms were segregated. We did precisely arsenic we were told. But it was inactive not enough. We feared they would bash this to america and they did.

"Everything feels incredibly bleak for maine and my sister now. We are stuck astatine home, nighttime turns to time and it each feels acheronian and bleak."

Despite Shabana's anguish, she praised Prof Mashal for taking a stance. "It is simply a precise lonely clip for the women and girls of my country. There aren't galore men who person spoken out. We interest astir his information but we are besides truthful grateful for his support."