Taliban declare ban on co-education in Afghanistan, prohibit men from teaching girls

Day after promising to protect women's rights in Afghanistan, the Taliban, which is set to form a new administration in the war-ravaged country, has issued a ban on co-education as well prohibited men from teaching girl students. It is to mention that this comes as the Islamic fundamentalist terror outfit has named Shaikh Abdulbaqi Haqqani as acting minister of higher education in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan's western Herat region, Taliban leaders ruled last week that girls will no longer be permitted to sit in the same classes as boys in universities. According to Taliban officials, co-education must be stopped.

Taliban announces ban on co-education in Afghanistan

Haqqani stated that all educational activities will be conducted in accordance with Sharia Law. Women will be denied access to higher education since major colleges in the country cannot afford to offer diverse classes because of a lack of funding, according to many critics.

"Taliban officially announce ban on coeducation. Men are not allowed to teach girls," Afghan journalist Bashir Ahmad Gwakh tweeted, quoting Taliban Minister Haqqani. 

"This will effectively deprive girls from higher education because universities cannot afford it nor there are enough human resources," the journalist further said in his tweet.

In a speech at Loya Jirga Tent, Taliban higher education minister Haqqani said that all educational activities in the country will be conducted according to Sharia Law.

In a meeting with authorities last week, private university owners opposed the Taliban's decision to provide education to girls and boys separately as there are not sufficient female teachers.

In its first press conference since taking over Kabul, the Taliban said earlier this month that they are committed to ensuring women's rights based on Islam.

"Taliban are committed to providing women with their rights based on Islam. Women can work in the health sector and other sectors where they are needed. There will be no discrimination against women," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said. However, experts have stated that Afghan women are most likely to suffer a grim future under the Taliban's rule.

Taliban on women security

In May, the United States formally began its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and it's now on the verge of finishing its military commitment. Dr Sajjan Gohel, a security and terrorism analyst told Four Nine that women are terrified of the Taliban.

"From the Afghan women I've spoken to, it's incredibly traumatic. You're looking at an entire generation who only read about the Taliban in books. Now, they're having to live side-by-side with what is effectively a misogynistic cult," Dr Gohel said.

He added that "we will see a return to some extent of what we saw in the 1990s."

On Saturday, 28 August, scores of people gathered near the Eiffel Tower in Paris to express their support for Afghan women following the Taliban's takeover. The marchers voiced fear that women in Afghanistan would be unsafe and urged that the French government open its borders to receive Afghan evacuees, with women and children given priority.

(With inputs from ANI)

(Picture Credit: AP)