New Delhi: Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the deputy minister of foreign affairs in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Sunday said education was women’s rights which should be provided to them, and that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure a safe environment for girls’ education in the country, TOLOnews reported.
The minister was speaking at a gathering organised to mark the death anniversary of former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour. Women make up half of the population of Afghanistan, and they should get their rights based on Afghan culture and Islamic values, he was quoted as saying.
“Women can’t even ask for their inheritance. They are deprived of the right to education. Where will women learn Shariah lessons? Women make up half of Afghanistan’s population,” Stanikzai said.
The statement came even as the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan have banned girls above the age of 12 from attending school, and placed strict gender segregation at universities.
Several other restrictions are also in place for women, which remind the world of the oppressive laws that existed in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 when the Taliban last ruled.
Oppressive Laws, Strict Restrictions Are Back
After taking control back in August 2021, following the withdrawal of the US-NATO forces, the Taliban had initially promised a more moderate society where women’s rights would be respected, but the conservative laws returned quickly.
Women are now largely forbidden from travelling in public without a male guardian accompanying them. On Sunday, the Taliban enforced a rule for female TV news presenters to cover their faces while on air, days after a ruling made it mandatory for all women to be covered in head-to-toe garments while in public, leaving only the eyes visible.