Taliban minister defends closing universities to women as global backlash grows - The Guardian

The curate of higher acquisition successful Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities has defended his determination to prohibition women from universities – a decree that triggered a planetary backlash and protests wrong the country.

Afghanistan’s Taliban-run medication announced earlier this week it had closed universities to women partially owed to pistillate students not adhering to its mentation of the Islamic formal codification and enactment betwixt students of antithetic genders.

Female assemblage students were turned distant from campuses connected Wednesday and the higher acquisition ministry said their entree would beryllium suspended “until further notice”. Dozens of women gathered extracurricular Kabul University connected Thursday to protestation successful the archetypal large nationalist objection successful the superior since the decision.

In the capital, astir 2 twelve women marched successful the streets, chanting 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.”

US caput of authorities Antony Blinken said the Taliban were trying to condemnation Afghanistan’s women “to a acheronian aboriginal without opportunity” by barring them from attending universities.

“Afghan women merit better. Afghanistan deserves better,” helium aboriginal tweeted. “The Taliban person conscionable definitively acceptable backmost their nonsubjective of being accepted by the planetary community.”

Acting higher acquisition curate Neda Mohammad Nadeem, successful his archetypal comments connected the matter, told Afghan authorities broadcaster RTA that respective issues had prompted the decision.

“We told girls to person due hijab but they didn’t and they wore dresses similar they are going to a wedding ceremony,” helium said.

“Girls were studying agriculture and engineering, but this didn’t lucifer Afghan culture. Girls should learn, but not successful areas that spell against Islam and Afghan honour.”

The higher acquisition curate said that the Taliban “asked the satellite not to interfere successful our affairs” arsenic helium said discussions implicit pistillate acquisition were ongoing.

Blinken called connected the Taliban to reverse the ban.

“We are engaged with different countries connected this close now. There are going to beryllium costs if this is not reversed,” the US caput of authorities told a quality conference, declining to supply specifics. “We volition prosecute them with allies and partners.”

US-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan successful August 2021 aft 20 years of warfare arsenic the western-backed erstwhile authorities collapsed and the militants, who enforce a strict mentation of Islam, seized Kabul.

Since the Taliban took over, students and professors accidental assemblage classes person been separated by sex and pistillate students person adjusted their attire to conscionable instructions specified arsenic covering their look and wearing acheronian colours.

The Taliban-led medication had already drawn disapproval including from overseas governments for not opening girls’ precocious schools astatine the commencement of the schoolhouse twelvemonth successful March, making a U-turn connected signals it would do.

In a motion of stricter enforcement of restrictions connected teenage girls’ education, a missive from the acquisition ministry connected Thursday instructed each acquisition institutions not to let girls supra people 6 to entree their facilities.

Though precocious schools successful astir provinces person been closed, immoderate person remained unfastened and galore tutoring centres and connection classes person been unfastened to girls. Nadeem said spiritual acquisition remained unfastened to pistillate students.

In the capital, astir 50 chiefly pistillate protesters assembled extracurricular Kabul University portion holding banners and chanted: “Education is our right, universities should beryllium opened.”

The erstwhile time students successful Nangahar University successful eastbound Afghanistan besides protested and antheral aesculapian students walked retired of exams successful protestation astatine their pistillate classmates being excluded. Several cricket players person besides publically opposed the ban.

Large-scale protesting has go uncommon successful Afghanistan since the Taliban took implicit the country, arsenic they are often unopen down forcefully by information agencies. The scattered protests that person occurred are a motion of the discontent the Taliban’s argumentation has generated, advocates say.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report