Afghanistan’s Taliban-run higher education ministry has said that female students would not be allowed access to the country’s universities until further notice, barring them from getting education, something that is their right and a basic necessity.
Where the Afghan Taliban’s takeover poses threat to many, people questioned what will happen to the women? Will their needs be sabotaged? Will they be treated as a lesser entity of the state? Will the women have freedom to live and recover from the torments of the past? Will the women be given the chance to have a good life? Looking at the present situation, one can only think: Why are the Afghan Taliban so afraid of a woman’s mind? If you educate a woman, you educate an entire generation. But this notion fails to prevail in the region.
The ban on female education has drawn international condemnation and people across the world are angry at how Afghan women are being treated.
After the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they closed schools across the country. Most schools eventually reopened, but girls in secondary school were told to stay at home until conditions— which the Taliban didn’t define— were ready for them to return to classes. The announcement to return to school never came.
In addition to barring women and girls from education, the Taliban have imposed a raft of rules to govern female behaviour.
We can only hope that the Taliban recognise women as equals and give them their due right and recognition.
