Kabul: The Taliban government's higher education minister on Thursday defended its decision to bar women from attending universities, a move that sparked worldwide outrage.
Nida Mohamed Nadeem said the ban imposed earlier this week was necessary to prevent gender mixing in universities and because she believes some of the subjects being taught violate the tenets of Islam in the first public discussion of the issue . According to him, the ban is effective until further notice.
Nadim responded in an interview with Afghan television to widespread international condemnation, including from Muslim-majority countries. He argued that foreigners should refrain from interfering in Afghan domestic affairs.
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Foreign ministers from the G7 group of countries earlier on Thursday urged the Taliban to lift the ban and warned that "gender abuse can be a crime against humanity."
The ministers warned after a virtual meeting that “the consequences of Taliban policies designed to erase women from public life will reflect how our country engages with the Taliban.
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union are members of the G7 group. According to Nadim, universities will be off-limits to women for the time being, but the ban may be lifted in the future.
Nadeem, a former provincial governor, police commissioner and military commander, was appointed minister by the Taliban's top leader in October. Nadeem had previously vowed to outlaw secular education. Nadeem is against female education, claiming it is against Afghan and Islamic principles.
The university ban has faced some domestic opposition in Afghanistan, including statements of condemnation from several Afghan cricket players. In Afghanistan, cricket is an extremely popular sport, and players have thousands of social media followers.
Since taking control in August 2021, the Taliban have widely enforced their own interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, despite promising a more liberal government that respected the rights of women and minorities.
Girls are expelled from middle and high schools, barred from most professions, and required to dress completely in public. The entry of women is also prohibited in the park and gym.
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While still largely traditional, Afghan society has become more supportive of girls' and women's education over the past 20 years. The ban has drawn widespread global condemnation.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu declared on Thursday that the ban was "neither Islamic nor humanitarian." Cavusoglu urged the Taliban to change their mind during a joint news conference with his Yemeni counterpart.
What harm can come from education for women? What harm is being done to Afghanistan by this? Cavusoglu said. Is there a Muslim justification? The opposite is true: Islam, our religion, is not opposed to education; On the contrary, it promotes it.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry is "surprised and saddened" by the lack of access to higher education for Afghan women. The ministry called the decision "surprising in all Islamic countries" in a statement released late on Wednesday. Qatar, which has been in contact with Taliban officials before now, also condemned the decision.
Shouting in Dari for freedom and equality, a group of about 20 women marched through the streets of the country's capital, Kabul, on Thursday. All or nothing. do not fear. He said, “We are one.
In a video obtained by The Associated Press, a woman claimed that Taliban security forces used force to disperse the group. She claimed that "the girls were groped and beaten."
Additionally, they brought in military women who used to beat the girls. We ran, and some of the girls were taken into custody. I don't know what will happen. According to many Afghan cricket players the ban should be lifted.
In a tweet, athlete Rahmanullah Garbaz claimed that every day lost for education is a day lost for the country's future. Rashid Khan, a different cricketer, took to Twitter to say that women are the cornerstone of the society.
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He wrote, "A society cannot expect its members to serve and work hard if it leaves its children in the care of ignorant and uneducated women."
At Nangarhar Medical University, there was another show of support for female university students. According to local media, male students reportedly walked out in support of access to the women's university and refused to take exams until exams were restored.
Since the return of the Taliban, girls are not allowed to continue their education past the sixth grade.
Teenage girls in the northeastern Takhar province claim that on Thursday, the Taliban ordered them to leave a private education training facility and informed them that they were no longer allowed to attend classes. Zuhal, a 15-year-old student, claimed that the girls had been beaten.
Another woman, Maryam, 19, sobbedly remarked, "This training centre was our hope. What are the girls' options? They came here with high hopes and an eagerness to learn.
It is truly unfortunate. All our hopes have been stolen by the Taliban. They closed the very small training centre as well as schools and universities