Islamic Countries Slam Taliban For Banning Women From Universities

In response to the Taliban’s ban on women’s right to education, on Wednesday, three Islamic countries — Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — expressed concern and condemned the Taliban for their actions.

There was “astonishment and regret” expressed by the Saudi foreign ministry regarding the lack of university education for Afghan women.

The governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkey have become the latest Muslim-majority countries to condemn the Taliban’s decision to bar women from university admissions. In contrast, some two dozen women staged a protest in the streets of Kabul on Thursday.

In an order issued earlier this week, the Taliban rulers of the country ordered women nationwide to cease attending private and public universities.

Ziaullah Hashmi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Higher Education, announced in a tweet Thursday that a news conference would be held this week to explain the ban.

As a result, girls are prohibited from attending middle or high school, women are barred from most occupations, and they are required to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Additionally, women are prohibited from entering parks and gyms. Over the past two decades, Afghan society has increasingly embraced education for girls and women, despite remaining largely traditional.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have both condemned the university ban.

In a statement on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that the ban was neither Islamic nor humane.

Cavusoglu urged the Taliban to reverse their decision at a joint news conference with his Yemeni counterpart.

Even though Afghan women are denied the opportunity to attend university, the Saudi foreign ministry expressed “astonishment and regret.” A statement released late Wednesday described the decision as “astonishing in all Islamic countries.”

Before this decision, Qatar, which has engaged with Taliban authorities, also condemned it.

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