Afghanistan: Taliban bans women from universities amid condemnation - BBC

The Taliban person banned women from universities successful Afghanistan, sparking planetary condemnation and despair among young radical successful the country.

The higher acquisition curate announced the regression connected Tuesday, saying it would instrumentality contiguous effect.

The prohibition further restricts women's acquisition - girls person already been excluded from secondary schools since the Taliban returned past year.

In Kabul, pistillate students person told the BBC astir their anguish.

"They destroyed the lone span that could link maine with my future," 1 Kabul University pupil said.

"How tin I react? I believed that I could survey and alteration my aboriginal oregon bring the airy to my beingness but they destroyed it."

Another pupil told the BBC she was a pistillate who had "lost everything".

She had been studying Sharia Islamic instrumentality and argued the Taliban's bid contradicted "the rights that Islam and Allah person fixed us".

"They person to spell to different Islamic countries and spot that their actions are not Islamic." she told the BBC.

The United Nations and respective countries person condemned the order, which takes Afghanistan backmost to the Taliban's archetypal play of regularisation erstwhile girls could not person ceremonial education.

The UN's Special Rapporteur to Afghanistan said it was "a caller debased further violating the close to adjacent acquisition and deepens the erasure of women from Afghan society."

The US said specified a determination would "come with consequences for the Taliban".

"The Taliban cannot expect to beryllium a morganatic subordinate of the planetary assemblage until they respect the rights of each successful Afghanistan," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken successful a statement.

"No state tin thrive erstwhile fractional of its colonisation is held back."

Western countries person demanded each twelvemonth that the Taliban amended pistillate acquisition if they privation to beryllium formally recognised arsenic Afghanistan's government.

However successful neighbouring Pakistan, the overseas curate said portion helium was "disappointed" by the Taliban's decision, helium inactive advocated engagement.

"I inactive deliberation the easiest way to our extremity - contempt having a batch of setbacks erstwhile it comes to women's acquisition and different things - is done Kabul and done the interim government," said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The Taliban had promised a softer regularisation aft seizing powerfulness past twelvemonth pursuing the US' withdrawal from the country. However the hardline Islamists person continued to rotation backmost women's rights and freedoms successful the country.

The Taliban's person Hibatullah Akhundzada and his interior ellipse person been against modern acquisition - peculiarly for girls and women.

There has been absorption to this stance from much mean officials, and analysts accidental this contented has been a constituent of factional part each year.

Yet connected Tuesday, the acquisition ministry said its scholars had evaluated the assemblage program and environment, and attendance for girls would beryllium suspended "until a suitable environment" was provided.

It added that it would soon supply specified a mounting and "citizens should not beryllium worried".

However successful March, the Taliban had promised to re-open immoderate precocious schools for girls but past cancelled the determination connected the time they were owed to return.

A assemblage lecturer and Afghan activistic successful the US said the Taliban had completed their isolation of women by suspending assemblage for them.

"This was the past happening the Taliban could do. Afghanistan is not a state for women but alternatively a cage for women," Humaira Qaderi told the BBC.

The Taliban had conscionable 3 months agone allowed thousands of girls and women to beryllium assemblage entranceway exams successful astir provinces crossed the country.

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, universities had already been operating nether discriminatory rules for women since the Taliban takeover successful 2021.

There were sex segregated entrances and classrooms, and pistillate students could lone beryllium taught by women professors oregon aged men.

However, women were inactive getting education. Unesco noted connected Tuesday that from 2001 and 2018 - the play betwixt Taliban regularisation - the complaint of pistillate attendance successful higher acquisition had accrued 20 times.

Several women person told the BBC they gave up aft the Taliban regained regularisation due to the fact that of "too galore difficulties".

Analysis by Yogita Limaye, BBC South Asia correspondent

There has been speculation for implicit a period present that the Taliban authorities would prohibition assemblage acquisition for women.

One pistillate pupil predicted it a fewer weeks ago. "One time we volition aftermath up and they volition accidental girls are banned from universities," she had said.

And so, portion galore Afghans mightiness person expected that sooner oregon aboriginal this determination would beryllium taken, it inactive comes arsenic a shock.

Last period women were barred from parks, gyms and swimming pools. In March this year, the Taliban authorities did not present connected its committedness to unfastened secondary schools for girls.

From conversations with Taliban leaders implicit the past year, it is evident that determination is disagreement wrong the Taliban connected the contented of girls' education.

Off the record, immoderate Taliban members person repeatedly said they are hopeful and moving to effort and guarantee girls get an education.

Girls were allowed to beryllium for graduation exams for secondary schools 2 weeks ago, successful 31 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, adjacent though they haven't been allowed to beryllium successful schoolhouse for much than a year.

That provided a glimmer of hope, which has present been extinguished.