Iran condemns Taliban's decision to deprive women of university ed

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Dec 2022 23:55
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Foreign Ministry Spokesman stresses that women in Afghanistan should be allowed to continue their education and contribute to the country's prosperity.

Afghan women participate in a protest against the university education ban for women, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 (AP Photo)

The Iranian Foreign Ministry's spokesman expressed disapproval of the Taliban's decision to suspend university education for female students in Afghanistan.

FM Spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a statement, reacting to reports that the Taliban is depriving female students of attending universities, said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a neighbor of Afghanistan that favors peace, stability, and development in that country, is sorry to hear about the obstacles being put in the way of university education for girls and women in Afghanistan.”

Kanaani said Tehran hopes that those in charge in Afghanistan would immediately lift the ban and allow Afghan women to access education at schools and universities, so that female students would enjoy the right to education and assume a more active role in Afghanistan's development and prosperity.

On Tuesday, Taliban authorities implemented a nationwide ban on university education for females, a move that comes just three months after thousands of women sat for entrance examinations for higher education across the country.

"You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice," said a statement signed by the Minister for Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, delivered to all public and private academic institutions.

Right after the Taliban took over power, universities were ordered to implement new regulations that prohibited gender mixing in classrooms and entrances.

Prior to this announcement, there was already a ban set in place on girls' secondary education, which had already caused severely limited access to higher education.

Some officials have said that the ban was only temporary - that time was further needed to reform the syllabus according to Islamic principles.

Others have cited the lack of funds as another reason for the school closures.