Islamic countries, US, condemn Taliban’s decision to disallow women’s right to education

New Delhi: Islamic countries — Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — and the US on Wednesday expressed concern and condemned the Taliban for disallowing women’s right to education.

Qatar expressed deep concern and disappointment with the Afghan caretaker government’s decision to suspend girls’ and women’s studies in Afghan universities until further notice.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses that these negative practices have a significant impact on human rights, development, and the economy of Afghanistan,” read Qatar’s MoFA statement.

It called on the Afghan caretaker govt to review its decision in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion concerning women’s rights, the statement added.

The MoFA underscored the position of Qatar supporting all spectra of Afghan people to obtain all their rights, particularly the right to education.

It also renewed the deep commitment of Qatar to work with its Afghan and international partners to ensure that all groups of Afghan people of all ages enjoy their right to education.

Meanwhile, the US said it stands with Afghanistan’s women and girls.

“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the Taliban’s indefensible decision to ban women from universities, keep secondary schools closed to girls, and continue to impose other restrictions on the ability of women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms, read US Secretary of State,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

He said that education is a human right and is also essential to Afghanistan’s economic growth and stability. The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan.

“This decision will come with consequences for the Taliban. No other country in the world bars women and girls from receiving an education. The Taliban’s repressive edicts have resulted in inexcusable restrictions on Afghan women and girls, including their access to schools,” added Blinken.

The Taliban’s latest announcement means that women and girls will continue to face enormous difficulties seeking employment to feed their families. Afghanistan is already losing more than USD 1 billion per year in contributions that women could make to the economy.

“Now the Taliban have sentenced the Afghan people to these losses and more. No country can thrive when half of its population is held back. We will continue to provide robust support to the Afghan people, including women and girls, seek to meet their humanitarian needs, and organize with allies and partners to advocate for their rights collectively,” added the statement.

Turkey, too, said it was saddened and concerned about the ban imposed on higher education for girls in Afghanistan.

“Education is a fundamental human right that all individuals must enjoy and not be deprived of, on the basis of equal opportunity and in a non-discriminatory manner. It is essential for the prosperity and future of the country that all girls are entitled to education without any exception in Afghanistan in line with the expectation of its people. In this regard, we state our expectation for the decision to be revised and for necessary steps to be taken as soon as possible,” read Turkey’s MoFA said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s MoFA said it regretted the decision of the Afghan caretaker government to deny Afghan girls the right to university education.

It called on the Taliban to reverse this decision, which is astonishing in all Islamic countries and is contrary to giving afghan women their full legitimate rights, foremost of which is the right to education, which contributes to supporting security, stability, development and prosperity for Afghanistan.

Since August 15, this year, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses.

These restrictions culminate with the confinement of Afghan women and girls to the four walls of their homes.