Fifth Year of Girls’ Education Ban Begins in Afghanistan’s Cold Regions as School Year Starts
As the new academic year begins in the cold regions of Afghanistan, the Taliban administration enforces its fifth consecutive year of banning girls’ education. This restriction continues to prevent millions of girls from pursuing their studies.
Mullah Neda Mohammad Nadim, Taliban’s Minister of Higher Education, had previously stated that even asking questions about girls’ education is forbidden “until further notice.” This stance indicates that the Taliban has neither plans to reopen schools and universities to girls nor tolerates any discussion of the issue.
He also claimed that girls’ education has no place in Sharia law and that the ban is imposed on the basis of “Islam and Sharia.” However, in many Islamic countries, girls’ education is an integral part of the formal education system, and the complete prohibition of it has drawn widespread domestic and international criticism.
The continuation of this situation places Afghanistan among the few countries where girls are deprived of secondary and higher education rights. This issue carries extensive social and economic consequences for the country’s future and remains a primary point of criticism against the Taliban administration’s policies.
