University ban remains well
Taliban exclude women from university entrance exams
01/28/2023 8:59 p.m
Hopes that the Taliban will lift the ban on women studying in Afghanistan have been dashed. The Ministry of Higher Education prohibits them from taking university entrance exams. The main problem is that they are taught there together with men.
Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban have barred women from annual college entrance exams. The Ministry of Higher Education has issued a letter instructing private and public universities not to admit women to the entrance exam for the next academic year, local news channel Tolonews reported. Officials from the Ministry of Higher Education confirmed the letter and the report.
The Islamists are thus dampening the hopes of many Afghans that the Taliban could lift the university ban imposed in December after protests in the country and sharp international criticism. Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban have severely restricted women’s rights. In the education sector in particular, there were serious cuts in several stages. First, girls were not allowed to go to school beyond the sixth grade. In December, in a further drastic step, women were finally banned from universities as well.
The Islamists justified the step, among other things, with the fact that the female students did not veil themselves properly and men and women were taught there together. Many other countries, both Western and Muslim, strongly condemned the ban. UN Secretary-General António Guterres had asked the Taliban to lift the ban.