Taliban regime’s decision to ban women from university education in Afghanistan will come with ‘consequences’: Antony Blinken

Just three months after numerous female students nationwide took the university entrance examinations, the restriction was enacted.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that the Taliban’s “indefensible choice” to prohibit women from attending colleges and keep secondary schools closed to girls will have “consequences” for the country’s strict Islamist government.

Tuesday saw a blanket prohibition on women attending universities as the Taliban government acted forcefully to restrict women’s access to both education and freedom.

The Taliban leadership firmly implemented its stringent interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, far from the milder rule they had promised when they took control last year.

Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the minister of higher education, wrote to all public and private universities, saying, “You all are informed to promptly follow the above order of halting the education of females till further notice.”

Mr. Blinken stated on Tuesday that “the United States condemns in the strongest terms the Taliban’s outrageous decision to bar women from attending universities, keep secondary schools closed to girls, and continue to impose other restrictions on the ability of women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their fundamental freedoms and human rights.”

The prohibition was enacted just three months after numerous female students nationwide took the university admissions examinations.

At a time when the nation is beset by a humanitarian catastrophe that is only getting worse, the action is likely to harm the Taliban’s efforts to gain support from possible international donors.

Afghanistan already loses more than $1 billion annually in potential economic contributions from women. He argued that a nation cannot prosper if half of its people are kept behind.

Despite the embargo, Mr. Blinken continued, Washington will continue to give the Afghan people, particularly women and girls, strong assistance, work to address their humanitarian needs, and organise with friends to jointly push for their rights. A coalition led by the United States overthrew the Taliban in 2001 for harbouring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

However, after America’s messy exit from the country in August 2021, they took back control.