John Adoyi, PBA Journalism MenteeTaliban-led government in Afghanistan has asked universities across the country to suspend education for girls.
This was revealed in a letter signed by the country’s Minister for Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, sent to all private and public universities, on Tuesday. The ban takes immediate effect.
“You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice.”
The hope of Girls who took university entrance examination in October has been dashed with this new measure. First, they were restricted to certain courses they could apply during university entrance examination.
Women were not allowed to apply for courses like agriculture, veterinary medicine, engineering or economics.
In September 2021, after the Taliban took over the country, Education for both girls and boys were prohibited but after a while, boys were allowed to return to school but amongst other harsh measures against females, secondary education for girls was prohibited.
According to the Taliban officials, schools for girls would be opened when the security improves but it never did.
In September, it looked like there was light at the end of the tunnel for girls, when a senior official of the Afghan government urged leaders to allow girls go to school, saying the ban on female education had no valid reason.
According to Taliban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai “It is very important that education must be provided to all, without any discrimination,” Stanikzai said. “Women must get an education, there is no Islamic prohibition for girls’ education,” he told the Taliban government.
He joined his voice with the international community that has been calling on the Taliban government to lift some of the ban placed on women.
According to the UN’s Security Council, Education for the girls who make up 60 per cent of the 4.2 million children out of school in Afghanistan will not be forgotten.
The Security Council also called on the Taliban to “swiftly reverse” its actions and reiterated the council’s previous call “to adhere to their commitments to reopen schools for all female students without further delay.”
Women in Afghanistan are prohibited from travelling long distance without a male relative, female journalists on TV must cover their faces. Women were also prohibited from going to parks or visit gyms.
Parents in the Islamic country now see early marriage as the only way out.
According to some of the Parents who spoke to AFP, marrying off the girls early, is the only way to make sure they don’t sit at home idle.
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