The Taliban in Afghanistan has banned women from obtaining university education, according to an Associated Press report.
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in Aug 2021 after Joe Biden ordered a hurried and chaotic evacuation from the country that killed 13 U.S. service members and left hundreds or more U.S. citizens behind to fend for themselves. The terrorist organization has been cracking down on human rights, including women’s rights, since reclaiming control.
This has included requiring women to wear hijabs and observe other strictures of Islamic extremism, or face violence.
The U.S. and many other countries have cut off financial aid and frozen assets belonging to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
Last year, female senators called on President Biden to work with international partners to hold the Taliban accountable for its treatment of women.
Per AP:
Women are banned from private and public universities in Afghanistan with immediate effect and until further notice, a Taliban government spokesman said Tuesday, the latest edict cracking down on their rights and freedoms. The decision was announced after a meeting of the Taliban government. Despite initially promising a more moderate rule and women’s and minority rights, the Taliban have widely implemented their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia. They have banned girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms. A letter shared by the spokesman for the Ministry of Higher Education, Ziaullah Hashmi, tells private and public universities to implement the ban as soon as possible and to inform the ministry once the ban is in place. Hashmi also tweeted the letter from his account and confirmed its contents in a message to The Associated Press. The university ban comes weeks after Afghan girls took their high school graduation exams, even though they have been banned from classrooms since the Taliban took over the country last year.
“In a movement in which the female is at the center, the barbaric, violent regime has used rape as a weapon to further demolish the morale of its people. They’ve targeted women in the court of law, for dancing, for singing, for showing some hair, and now they’re violating them in the worst way possible before robbing them of their lives,” Lisa Daftari, editor-in-chief of the Foreign Desk said in a statement, Fox News reports.
“Makes you wonder where the so-called champions of women’s rights are around the world, and why they’re not doing more for the women of Iran. It boggles the mind that up until last week, these brutal dictators were sitting on the world’s foremost committee for women’s rights. How long will Iran’s women have to endure this brutality before leaders step up to condemn this regime?”
