Afghanistan’s Neighbors Line Up To Condemn Taliban For Barring Women From University

Afghanistan’s near neighbors in the Gulf have been lining up to condemn a decision by the Taliban government to stop girls and women from studying in the country’s universities.

On December 20, the Ministry of Higher Education in Kabul announced the suspension would be in place until further notice.

The BBC reported that there had been some small protests on the streets of the capital in response to the move. However, the demonstrations were quickly shut down by the Taliban.

Gulf countries have themselves often faced criticism for their unequal treatment of men and women.

Despite this, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “astonishment and regret” at the decision by the Taliban and called on the Afghan caretaker government to reverse this decision, “which raises astonishment in all Islamic countries”.

The Qatari government also said it had “deep concern and disappointment” at the move, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying “these negative practices will have a significant impact on human rights, development and the economy in Afghanistan.”

The Doha government called on its Afghan counterparts “to review its decision in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion concerning women’s rights”.

The UAE – which recently hosted the Taliban’s acting defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob – also issued a damning rebuke. Its ambassador to the United Nations, Lana Nusseibeh, “reiterated the UAE’s strong condemnation” of the decision which “profoundly jeopardizes the international community’s efforts to engage with the Taliban in the interest of the Afghan people.”

“The UAE reaffirms that this decision, as well as the earlier bans on girls from accessing secondary education, violate fundamental human rights, contravene the teachings of Islam, and must be swiftly reversed,” added Nusseibeh.

Other countries have also expressed their opposition to the move. Pakistan said it was urging the Afghan authorities to revisit the decision. “Pakistan’s position on this issue has been clear and consistent. We strongly believe that every man and woman has the inherent right to education in accordance with the injunctions of Islam,” its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Taliban has also been roundly condemned by the United Nations. In a strongly-worded statement issued on December 21, the UN’s education arm UNESCO said it shared “the outrage of millions of Afghans and the international community over the decision” and called on the authorities to “immediately revoke the decision”.

The decision to close third level education to women follows the move in August last year to bar girls from attending secondary school. Women are also excluded from many jobs and are banned from using parks, gyms and public bath houses.

The UN has also urged the Afghan authorities to reopen girls’ schools beyond the sixth grade and to end “all measures preventing women and girls from participating fully in daily public life”.

The UN has estimated that restricting women from the workforce could result in an economic loss of up to $1 billion – equivalent to around 5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). It said banning women from universities, including female teachers and professors, would mean additional economic losses.

The UN’s special rapporteur for Afghanistan was among the first to condemn the latest policy. Richard Bennett said on Twitter on December 20 that “The suspension of women from university education announced today … marks a new low, further violating the right to equal education and deepens the erasure of women from Afghan society. I call on the [Taliban] to reverse it immediately.”

U.S. secretary of state Anthony Blinken said the Biden administration “condemns in the strongest terms the Taliban’s indefensible decision to ban women from universities” as well as to keep secondary schools closed to girls and to place other restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan to stop them exercising their fundamental freedoms. “This decision will come with consequences for the Taliban,” said Blinken.