UK PM Rishi Sunak slams Taliban's women education ban; 'As a father I cannot imagine..'

Deriding the Islamic fundamentalist regime of the Taliban in Afghanistan and its recent ban on the university education for women, Britain Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he could not imagine a world where girls or daughters were denied education being a "father to daughters". Sunak expressed solidarity with women of Afghanistan as he questioned the Taliban's de facto government for implementing such rules that are a violation of the human rights. Taliban's decision was also slammed by foreign governments and the United Nations. This latest announcement comes just months after the hardliner regime dismissed the women from leadership roles within the country's civil service and banned from secondary schools. 

"The women of Afghanistan have so much to offer. Denying them access to university is a grave step backwards," the UK leader tweeted, adding, "We will judge the Taliban by their actions," tweeted Britain Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. 

"The world is watching," Sunak warned. 

Taliban bars women from university education

Earlier yesterday, Taliban-run higher education ministry in Afghanistan made a formal announcement that it is suspending access for women to universities until further notice, a move that barred education for females and attracted widespread backlash and strong condemnation from the international community, including the United States, Britain, and the United Nations. Taliban instructed the universities to bar the access of Afghan women in a letter, which was confirmed by the spokesperson for the higher education ministry.

Female students should be banned immediately from universities in accordance with a Cabinet decision, the letter instructed. The announcement came as the United Nations Security Council met in New York on Afghanistan. “You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending the education of females until further notice,” the letter issued to all government and private universities, signed by Taliban's Minister for Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem read. Despite its initial promises of moderating rules that would respect rights for women and minorities, the Taliban has instead implemented a strict interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia. The blanket ban on all women from universities comes weeks after they appeared in their high school graduation exams. 

“This is really painful and heartbreaking for millions of girls prevented from high schools and now universities,” Mohsin Amin, an Afghan policy analyst and researcher tweeted as the Taliban made the announcement that attracted backlash worldwide.