Taliban in Afghanistan forbids women from visiting institutions “for not dressing according to the dress code”

The Taliban in Afghanistan forbids women from visiting institutions “for not dressing according to the dress code.”

The Taliban’s minister for higher education said that women couldn’t go to colleges in Afghanistan because they didn’t follow rules about how to dress.

Since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August of last year, they have imposed a number of restrictions on women’s rights, most recently the ban on female students that was announced earlier this week.

People all over the world are angry about it, especially Muslim countries that think it goes against Islam and the G7 group of wealthy countries that says it might be “a crime against humanity.”

The minister of higher education for the Taliban government, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, said on Thursday that female students had broken Islamic rules, especially about what to wear and traveling with a male relative.

Neda Mohammad Nadeem stated in an interview on state television that “unfortunately, after the passing of 14 months, the directives of the Islamic Emirate’s Ministry of Higher Education on the education of women were not executed.”

“They appeared as though they were attending a wedding.” Girls who commuted to universities from their homes likewise disregarded the hijab rules.

Nadeem added that some science disciplines weren’t appropriate for female students. He claimed that the dignity and honor of female students, as well as Afghan tradition, are not met by engineering, agriculture, and some other courses.

It had been less than three months since thousands of women were allowed to take college entrance exams. Many of them wanted to become teachers or doctors.

The majority of the country’s secondary schools for girls have been shut down for more than a year, according to the Taliban, who have provided a long list of justifications for why they haven’t reopened.

Since the Taliban’s return, women have been gradually expelled from public life, forced out of many government professions, or paid a small portion of their previous income to stay at home.

Additionally, they are forbidden from traveling alone, are required to cover up in public, and are forbidden from visiting parks, fairs, gyms, and public bathhouses.

The G7’s ministers reacted angrily to the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan, especially its most recent decision to restrict access to higher education. They asked that the prohibition be lifted.

According to the Rome Statute, which Afghanistan is a signatory to, gender discrimination may qualify as a crime against humanity, the ministers said in a statement about the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The Taliban’s efforts to eliminate women from public life will have an impact on how our nations interact with them.

A group of Afghan women protested the prohibition on the streets of the nation’s capital earlier on Thursday.

“Women were kicked out of universities. Individuals you admire should always be supported.”Rights for all or none at all!” Footage acquired by AFP showed the demonstrators chanting as they gathered in a neighborhood of Kabul.

At the demonstration, a protester informed AFP that “several of the females” had been detained by female police officers. Under the condition of anonymity, she added that two were eventually released and two were still in custody.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, women-led protests have become less common. This is especially true since key activists were arrested at the start of this year.

Participants risk being locked up, getting hurt, and getting a bad name from their families.

The Taliban have tightened restrictions on all aspects of women’s lives, despite pledging a lighter rule when they seized control.

After the Nazis took over, universities had to make new rules, such as having separate entrances and classrooms for men and women. Women could only be taught by professors of the same gender or older men.

Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader, and his allies are clerics who oppose modern education, particularly for girls and women. They follow a strict interpretation of Islam.

The right to education for all women has become a contentious issue in discussions regarding assistance and legitimacy for the Taliban government, thanks to the international community.

Although the nation remained socially conservative throughout the 20 years between the Taliban’s two administrations, girls were permitted to attend school, and women were free to pursue employment in all industries.

In recent weeks, the authorities have resumed public floggings of both men and women as they enforce a severe version of Islamic Sharia law.