According to 20-year-old Afghan student Natkai, “my only hope was to get a scholarship which would help me study abroad” after the Taliban closed universities for women.
The name Natkai has been altered for her security.
Women who oppose the Taliban have come under harsh repression from them.
Natkai claims she persisted in her studies despite the likelihood that she would never be able to attend university in her native country.
She then received a scholarship from Emirati billionaire businessman Sheikh Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor to attend the University of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
After the Taliban forbade women from attending universities, the scholarships for Afghan women were announced in December 2022.
According to information provided to the BBC, 100 Afghan women have been awarded these scholarships. A few Afghan students who are studying abroad have already visited Dubai.
On July 23, Natkai bid her family farewell and left for the airport.
Her aspirations were quickly shattered, though.
She tells me, her voice shaking, “When the Taliban officials saw our tickets and student visas, they said girls are not allowed to leave Afghanistan on student visas.”
halted their travels
At least 60 girls were turned away from the airport, including Natkai.
BBC images show young girls standing next to their luggage in a state of shock and grief while wearing black hijabs or headscarves.
The Taliban forbid women from travelling alone and only permit them to do so when accompanied by their spouses or a mahram, a male escort, who can be a brother, uncle, or father.
Even so, it wasn’t sufficient.
“Three girls who had a mahram were inside the plane,” claims Natkai. However, representatives from the Vice and Virtue ministry removed them from the aircraft.
The remaining students were too terrified to speak with the media.
Inside a private university, a banner with spray-painted portraits of women can be seen. Image source: Getty portraits
Women have even been removed off campus banners, as shown in the image description
Shams Ahmad, a young man who accompanied his sister to the airport, spoke about the distress.
“After the universities closed here, the scholarship gave my sister fresh hope. She left the house full of optimism and came back in tears,” he claims. “All of her rights have been taken away.”
According to Mr. Ahmad, some of the ladies even took out loans to pay for a male travel companion’s visa, but they were still detained.
Some of these girls are very impoverished and defenceless. For the document verification cost that the foreign affairs ministry has required, they don’t even have 400 Afghanis (£4; $5).
The Taliban places numerous restrictions on women and girls, making it difficult or impossible for them to pursue education and gain employment.
The females were stopped, according to Mr. Al Habtoor and the University of Dubai.
English-language video message from Mr. Al Habtoor was published on X, formerly known as Twitter. He criticises the Taliban leadership in it by asserting that Islam upholds the equality of men and women.
An English-language audio message from an Afghan girl who was detained at the airport is also included in the video.
We are here in the airport, but regrettably, the government has forbidden us from travelling to Dubai, she explains. “Even they forbid those with mahrams. I’m at a loss on what to do. Please assist us.
The response of nations
Both diplomats and rights organisations are shocked by the most recent Taliban activity.
Afghanistan women rally for education.
Despite the risks, Afghan women have organised numerous protests but have been unable to alter the Taliban government’s course of action.
“This is an important and alarming step beyond the extraordinary level of cruelty the Taliban already engage in by denying girls and women education,” claims Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch.
Because of this, they are being held captive and unable to receive study aid from others.
Shkula Zadran, a former Afghan youth delegate to the UN, has written a statement encouraging the university to continue working with the girls.
There is no official statement or explanation from the Taliban.
Mohammad Sadiq Akif Muhajir, a spokesman for the Vice and Virtue ministry, told the BBC that they were not aware of the occurrence.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a top Taliban spokesman, similarly refrained from commenting, claiming he was out of the country and had any relevant information.
Natkai is feeling hopeless right now.
She had just finished high school and was getting ready for the university entrance exam on August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized power.
Natkai believed she had discovered a strategy for pursuing her goals. She claims that because “they don’t accept or respect women,” she has nothing to say to the Taliban.
She appeals on the international community to support Afghan girls’ education.
“In a nation where being a girl is against the law, I missed this opportunity. I’m in a really terrible situation and have no idea what to do or what will occur next.
BBC
