Saudi Arabia urges Taliban to reverse university ban for Afghan women

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed shock and disappointment at the caretaker Afghan government’s decision to deny Afghan females the opportunity to attend university.

 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Afghan government to retract this decision, which stunned all Islamic countries.

It indicated that this decision contradicts giving Afghan women their full legal rights, foremost of which is their right to education.

The ministry added that girls’ education contributes to supporting security, stability, development, and prosperity for Afghanistan and its people.

 The Taliban decided today, Tuesday, to ban university education for women in Afghanistan for an indefinite period.

This was according to a letter sent by the Ministry of Higher Education to all public and private universities.

 A letter signed by Minister Nada Muhammad Nadeem said”I inform all of you to implement the aforementioned order to stop female education until further notice”.

Ministry spokesman Dia Allah Al-Hashemi, who posted the message on Twitter, confirmed the decision in a written statement.

The ban on higher education for women comes less than three months after thousands of them took university entrance exams across the country.

After the Taliban seized power in August last year, universities were forced to implement revised rules, including allocating classrooms and entrances that separate the sexes.

Only female teachers and elderly men were allowed to teach female students.

 Girls across the country were banned from secondary education, on March 23, which severely reduced the number of them in universities.