Uzbek Language Removed from Jawzjan University Signboard
Residents of Jawzjan province say the Taliban administration has recently installed a new signboard at the entrance of Jawzjan University that omits the Uzbek language. The sign is now written only in Pashto, Dari, and English.
Multiple local sources have described the move as discriminatory against the country’s Uzbek-speaking community. One local source, who asked to remain anonymous due to security concerns, said the removal of the Uzbek language indicates the Taliban’s hostile stance toward the language and identity of Afghanistan’s Turkic ethnic groups.
Images shared with the media show that not only has the Uzbek language been removed from the new signboard, but the Persian word for “university” has also been omitted. The Taliban authorities have not issued any official statement regarding the change.
In a strong response, former senator and daughter of Abdul Rashid Dostum, Rahela Dostum, said the removal of Uzbek from the university sign is not simply cosmetic. She described it as part of a targeted policy aimed at erasing the presence and identity of Turkic peoples in Afghanistan’s public sphere.
Dostum emphasized that Afghanistan’s Turkic communities will not allow their language and culture to be suppressed under discriminatory practices. She called the Taliban’s actions a blatant insult to the dignity and status of these communities and warned that they will not remain silent in the face of such disrespect.
