Taliban Higher Education Min claims women & men 'not equal' to justify draconian crackdown

Acting minister of Higher Education in Taliban's de-facto government, Neda Mohammad Nadim, on Sunday, said that in accordance with the Islamic Shariah law, "men and women are not equal," and that the Taliban is in the process of dismantling the systems related to the role of women in the Afghan society, according to Kabul-based agency TOLO. 

Speaking at a gathering at Baghlan University, Nadim hurled biases saying that while the Western nations propagated equality between men and women, the two genders aren't equal and gave a veiled justification for the fundamentalist regime's latest crackdowns on women's employment and education. Women and men are “not equal," the minister of the self-imposed government that took control of the war-devastated country after the fall of Kabul shortly after the US army's exit underscored.

'Men are superior to women, can exercise authority, male is ruler'

“The Almighty Allah [God] has distinguished between men and women," explained the Taliban minister, adding that men are superior to women by the law of nature and emulating examples not backed by logic. Nadim went on to add that a male is the 'ruler,' and therefore, on the basis of purely on his gender, he can exercise 'authority' [over women]. The Talibani Higher Education minister continued that a man 'must be obeyed [by women] and that the women, subservient to the male gender, "must accept his word." 

"A woman is not equal to a man; however, they [Western nations] have placed her above a man,” said Nadim making discriminatory remarks backing them with Shariah law at a university meeting.

Afghan women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit: AP

Nadeem, during his speech, explained what's synonymous with good governance. A government "must behave well towards the people," he said, not touching on crucial subjects such as equal opportunities, access to education, or employment. The agency reports that some professors and the students of Baghlan University urged the minister to focus on a suitable educational environment in universities and improving conditions. 

Instead, the minister told the gathering that the government must "treat people well, and provide security and justice." “This is the responsibility of the Islamic Emirate," he said using the name that the Taliban employs for Afghanistan. The government's role is "to treat the people well," Nadeem said, adding that it must "bring ease, and it should bring good news."

"There should be no hatred, there should be no differences among the 'officials', and the second thing is to ensure security,” said Neda Mohammad Nadim. 

An Afghan woman cleans a customer's shoes in Kabul. Credit: AP

Commenting on the speech of Nadeem, Sayed Sati, a lecturer at Baghlan University said that the main area of focus with respect to education is fulfilling the "most crucial requirements and conditions that can make a university grow in terms of science and research are the provision of facilities and equipment.” A student, identified as Yama Barna, registered grievances and difficulties faced by the Afghan students on a day-to-day basis.

“The lack of regular transportation for students is the first issue," Barna told the reporter of the agency. "It should be taken care of because the distance between the city and the institution is great. The second issue is the lack of a dorm, which students have experienced for years," he added. 

In a speech made at Kunduz University, the Taliban's acting minister of Higher Education focussed on the ministry's efforts to expand resources for the universities, where only males have the privilege to avail education. Women and girls in war-torn Afghanistan have no access to education and have been confined to homes, rarely seen in public spaces, offices, or parks. More than 80% of Afghan girls of school-going age are denied entry into schools under the fundamentalist Taliban regime.

Rights groups say that Afghan girls children up to grade six are strictly prohibited from attending school. Self-proclaimed minister for higher education in the Taliban government Neda Mohammad Nadeem justified this draconian ban and months-long curb on the women's right to education by saying that females have to be accompanied by male relatives to the educational institutes under the new set of laws, but that they've been violating the "laws."

Classes where girls studied lie empty after Taliban's education ban. Credit: AP

Girl students ignore 'Islamic instructions' based on the Shariah law such as the appropriate moral dress, or being accompanied by a male relative, and their behaviour was in breach of the country's Islamic moral code of conduct, Nadeem said in a state TV interview justifying the flurry of draconian restrictions.

Any girl over 10 years of age: 'Not allowed!'

The Taliban-appointed minister argues that science subjects were not suitable for women, arguing that these subjects taught in the universities "violated the principles of Islam." "Engineering, agriculture, and some other courses do not match the dignity and honour of female students and also Afghan culture," he said in televised remarks. The madrassas countrywide that taught women have been shuttered by the Taliban in accordance with the law as it was 'necessary' to prevent the mixing of genders.

Taliban-ruled Ministry of Education instructed the school principals and teachers to make an announcement across provinces that “any girl over 10 years of age is not allowed to study in primary schools." Authorities of the “Ministry for Preaching and Guidance”, formerly the Women’s Affairs Ministry, were separating the girls and boys based on their gender and age in schools asking girl children in third grade to go home. 

A girl stopped by Taliban security force from attending university. Credit: AP

Nadeem had previously hit back at the Islamic nations Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar for raising objections to the controversial laws, asking the world to "stop interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs."

"What they’re [Taliban] is doing is trying to sentence Afghan women and girls to a dark future without opportunity,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a White House briefing. 

“And the bottom line is that no country is going to be able to succeed – much less thrive – if it denies half its population the opportunity to contribute. And to be clear, we’re engaged with other countries on this right now – there are going to be costs if this is not reversed, if this has not changed,” Blinken asserted. 

To instate the ban on women's education and their access to public spaces, the Taliban has resorted to desperate measures such as fencing off educational institutions with barbed wires and the deployment of armed security guards along the peripheries of the universities and schools. Harrowing footage that emerged from Kabul showed the Afghans breaking into tears as they were asked to go home during the midterm at schools and universities, while others were pushed away at the gates that were cordoned off to prohibit girls and women from appearing in the examination shattering their future, dreams and goals.

Women weep outside Edrak university after they asked to go back home. Credit: AP

Taliban also banned women from other spheres of life such as from working in non-governmental organizations (NGO) as women in burqas [veils] were stopped by armed men at the fenced-off gates. They are no longer allowed to go to beauty salons in latest curb on their rights and freedoms.

Taliban argued that the beauty salons for women offered services 'forbidden by Islam' and caused economic hardship for the families of grooms during wedding festivities. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on the de facto authorities to halt the edict closing beauty salons, trampling on women’s rights and entrepreneurship. 

(With agencies Inputs)