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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The curate of higher acquisition successful the Taliban authorities connected Thursday defended his determination to prohibition women from universities — a decree that had triggered a planetary backlash.
Discussing the substance for the archetypal clip successful public, Nida Mohammad Nadim said the prohibition issued earlier this week was indispensable to forestall the mixing of genders successful universities and due to the fact that helium believes immoderate subjects being taught violated the principles of Islam. He said the prohibition was successful spot until further notice.
In an interrogation with Afghan television, Nadim pushed backmost against the wide planetary condemnation, including from Muslim-majority countries specified arsenic Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. Nadim said that foreigners should halt interfering successful Afghanistan’s interior affairs.
Earlier connected Thursday, the overseas ministers of the G7 radical of states urged the Taliban to rescind the ban, informing that “gender persecution whitethorn magnitude to a transgression against humanity.” The ministers warned aft a virtual gathering that “Taliban policies designed to erase women from nationalist beingness volition person consequences for however our countries prosecute with the Taliban.” The G7 radical includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
Nadim said universities would beryllium closed to women for the clip being, but that the prohibition could beryllium reviewed astatine a aboriginal time.
A erstwhile provincial governor, constabulary main and subject commander, Nadim was appointed curate successful October by the ultimate Taliban person and antecedently pledged to stamp retired secular schooling. Nadim opposes pistillate education, saying it is against Islamic and Afghan values.
In Afghanistan, determination has been immoderate home absorption to the assemblage ban, including statements of condemnation by respective Afghan cricketers. Cricket is simply a hugely fashionable athletics successful Afghanistan, and players person hundreds of thousands of followers connected societal media.
Despite initially promising a much mean regularisation respecting rights for women and minorities, the Taliban person wide implemented their mentation of Islamic law, oregon Sharia, since they seized powerfulness successful August 2021.
They person banned girls from mediate schoolhouse and precocious school, barred women from astir fields of employment and ordered them to deterioration head-to-toe covering successful public. Women are besides banned from parks and gyms. At the aforesaid time, Afghan society, portion mostly traditional, has progressively embraced the acquisition of girls and women implicit the past 2 decades.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that the prohibition was “neither Islamic nor humane.”
Speaking astatine a associated quality league with his Yemeni counterpart, Cavusoglu called connected the Taliban to reverse their decision.
“What harm is determination successful women’s education? What harm does it bash to Afghanistan?” Cavusoglu said. “Is determination an Islamic explanation? On the contrary, our religion, Islam, is not against education, connected the contrary, it encourages acquisition and science.”
Saudi Arabia, which until 2019 enforced sweeping restrictions connected women’s travel, employment and different important aspects of their regular lives, including driving, besides urged the Taliban to alteration course.
The Saudi overseas ministry expressed “astonishment and regret” astatine Afghan women being denied a assemblage education. In a connection precocious Wednesday, the ministry said the determination was “astonishing successful each Islamic countries.”
Previously, Qatar, which has engaged with the Taliban authorities, besides condemned the decision.
In the superior of Kabul, astir 2 twelve women marched successful the streets Thursday, chanting successful Dari for state and equality. “All oregon none. Don’t beryllium afraid. We are together,” they chanted.
In video obtained by The Associated Press, 1 pistillate said Taliban information forces utilized unit to disperse the group.
“The girls were beaten and whipped,” she said. “They besides brought subject women with them, whipping the girls. We ran away, immoderate girls were arrested. I don’t cognize what volition happen.”
Several Afghan cricketers called for the prohibition to beryllium lifted.
Player Rahmanullah Garbaz said successful a tweet that each time of acquisition wasted was a time wasted successful the country’s future.
Another cricketer, Rashid Khan, tweeted that women are the instauration of society. “A nine that leaves its children successful the hands of ignorant and illiterate women cannot expect its members to service and enactment hard,” helium wrote.
Another amusement of enactment for pistillate assemblage students came astatine Nangarhar Medical University. Local media reported that antheral students walked retired successful solidarity and refused to beryllium for exams until women’s assemblage entree was reinstated.
Girls person been banned from schoolhouse beyond the sixth people since the Taliban’s return.
In northeastern Takhar province, teenage girls said the Taliban connected Thursday forced them retired of a backstage acquisition grooming halfway and told them they nary longer had the close to study. One student, 15-year-old Zuhal, said the girls were beaten.
Another, 19-year-old Maryam, said portion crying: “This grooming halfway was our hope. What tin these girls do? They were afloat of anticipation and coming present to learn. It is truly a pity. (The Taliban) person taken each our hopes. They closed schools, universities, and the grooming center, which was precise small.”
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Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.
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