Afghan women hold closed-doors protest against ban on university education

Kabul, Dec 27 (EFE).- A group of Afghan women on Tuesday held a protest behind closed doors in Kabul against the Taliban ban on university education for women, after the security forces violently suppressed the last round of street protests on the issue.

“As media and the people witnessed that the Taliban security forces violently dispersed the previous protests, we decided to come together in a closed area and raise our voice (…) regarding the Taliban’s non-Islamic and illogical decisions,” a protestor told EFE on the condition of anonymity.

Gathered inside a building that appeared to be a private residence, the women condemned the Taliban’s order last weak banning women from taking admission in universities, and criticized the international community for its inaction and silence even as Afghanistan is becoming a “prison” for them.

“The Taliban, from the start of their governance, banned women from education and working, which is against all the human rights principles. They have deprived Afghan women of their basic humanitarian and Islamic rights,” said a statement read out at the protest.

The protesters urged the Taliban government and international community to ensure the reversal of the university ban, and reopen the secondary schools for girls, which have remain closed since the Islamists seized power in Kabul.

They also demanded that they should be given back the right to join the workforce under normal conditions and form women’s groups.

Afghan women have repeatedly protested across the country since the order banning them from universities came into effect.

However, many of these protests have been violently dispersed by Taliban security forces, which have used water cannons and arrested some of the protesters in order to suppress the opposition to the move.

The regime has imposed a series of restrictions on women since taking office in August 2021, such as banning teenage girls from attending school, segregation of men and women in public places, making it mandatory for women to wear the veil in public and be accompanied by a male relative on long journeys.

Last weekend, in another blow to women, the government banned them from working in nonprofits, arguing that they were violating Islamic law by not using the veil, a decision that resulted in several NGO announcing their withdrawal from the country in protest. EFE

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