Three Years Since Taliban Ban on Higher Education for Afghan Girls

December 20 marks the third anniversary of the Taliban administration’s decision to suspend higher education for girls in Afghanistan. This action, announced by the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, halted thousands of female students from continuing their university studies.

Female students across various provinces in the country say this ban has seriously damaged their hopes for the future and made their life paths uncertain. According to them, the closure of universities has not only deprived them of access to education but has also severely restricted their right to choose and their social roles.

In response to this situation, Hamid Karzai, former President of Afghanistan, emphasized in a message on the social media platform X that the country’s self-sufficiency is impossible without the participation of hundreds of thousands of female and male specialists in areas such as medicine, engineering, economics, and technology. This view once again highlights the vital importance of women’s education.

University professors have also warned about the long-term consequences of this decision, stating that depriving women of higher education will seriously weaken Afghanistan’s scientific and developmental capacity in the coming years and deepen social divides.

Despite these criticisms and widespread domestic and international demands, the Taliban administration has shown no new reaction to this issue in recent months. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the administration, previously stated that work is ongoing to create a religious framework to allow girls’ education. However, this promise has yet to yield any practical results and continues to face broad criticism.