Taliban Bans Afghan Women from Universities
2022-12-22
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1Women and girls in Afghanistan suffered another setback in their push for equal access to education on Wednesday.
2Many universities closed their doors to female students hoping to take exams and attend class.
3Reports by Voice of America and the Associated Press said young women could be seen crying after they were not permitted to go into their university buildings.
4Taliban fighters in Kabul and other Afghan cities blocked the students from going into their classrooms.
5The action came one day after the Taliban administration shared a letter that said private and public universities should ban women and girls as soon as possible.
6Rahimullah Nadeem is a spokesman for Kabul University.
7He said classes for female students had ended but some were permitted to come inside to finish paperwork and other business.
8He said four graduation events took place Wednesday.
9A student named Fatima attends a private university in Kabul.
10She told VOA she was supposed to take her final exams on Wednesday.
11But she and her classmates could not get in.
12"All of us were crying and refusing to leave the gates for several hours, and begging Taliban authorities to let us take our exams," she said.
13The move by Taliban leaders in Kandahar will hurt the nation's chances of creating diplomatic connections with outside governments.
14Those governments and other aid organizations have been holding back financial help because of what appears to be the Taliban's return to their extreme version of Islamic law, known as Sharia law.
15The Taliban gained control of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 after U.S. forces pulled out.
16The new Taliban leadership promised changes that included giving women permission to go to school and have a public life.
17Rina Amiri is a human rights adviser for the U.S. State Department.
18In a Twitter message, she said the decision "removes any doubt that they're reverting to the extreme policies of the 90s."
19Before the announcement of the latest restriction on women, the government had banned girls from middle and high school education, restricted women from seeking most work and ordered them to wear burkas -- head-to-toe clothing -- in public.
20Two Muslim nations, Qatar and Pakistan, criticized the university ban and asked the Taliban to reconsider the decision.
21Antony Blinken is the U.S. Secretary of State. He said no other country prevents women from seeking education.
22"The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan," Blinken said.
23Blinken said the Taliban's restrictions have likely cost the Afghan economy $1 billion because only half of its population is working and studying.
24"No country can thrive when half its population is held back," he said.
25Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said he was "deeply alarmed" by the decision.
26He added that it would hurt the country's future.
27Experts on Afghanistan criticized the move.
28Abdallah Abdallah was a top leader in Afghanistan's former government.
29He called taking education away from girls "regrettable" in a message published on Twitter.
30Ahmad Saeedi, an expert on Afghan politics, said the world must find another way to interact with the Taliban.
31But "the issue of recognition," he said, "is over."
32I'm Dan Friedell.
1Women and girls in Afghanistan suffered another setback in their push for equal access to education on Wednesday. Many universities closed their doors to female students hoping to take exams and attend class. 2Reports by Voice of America and the Associated Press said young women could be seen crying after they were not permitted to go into their university buildings. Taliban fighters in Kabul and other Afghan cities blocked the students from going into their classrooms. 3The action came one day after the Taliban administration shared a letter that said private and public universities should ban women and girls as soon as possible. 4Rahimullah Nadeem is a spokesman for Kabul University. He said classes for female students had ended but some were permitted to come inside to finish paperwork and other business. He said four graduation events took place Wednesday. 5A student named Fatima attends a private university in Kabul. She told VOA she was supposed to take her final exams on Wednesday. But she and her classmates could not get in. 6"All of us were crying and refusing to leave the gates for several hours, and begging Taliban authorities to let us take our exams," she said. 7The move by Taliban leaders in Kandahar will hurt the nation's chances of creating diplomatic connections with outside governments. Those governments and other aid organizations have been holding back financial help because of what appears to be the Taliban's return to their extreme version of Islamic law, known as Sharia law. 8The Taliban gained control of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 after U.S. forces pulled out. The new Taliban leadership promised changes that included giving women permission to go to school and have a public life. 9Rina Amiri is a human rights adviser for the U.S. State Department. In a Twitter message, she said the decision "removes any doubt that they're reverting to the extreme policies of the 90s." 10Before the announcement of the latest restriction on women, the government had banned girls from middle and high school education, restricted women from seeking most work and ordered them to wear burkas -- head-to-toe clothing -- in public. 11Two Muslim nations, Qatar and Pakistan, criticized the university ban and asked the Taliban to reconsider the decision. 12Antony Blinken is the U.S. Secretary of State. He said no other country prevents women from seeking education. 13"The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan," Blinken said. 14Blinken said the Taliban's restrictions have likely cost the Afghan economy $1 billion because only half of its population is working and studying. 15"No country can thrive when half its population is held back," he said. 16Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said he was "deeply alarmed" by the decision. He added that it would hurt the country's future. 17Experts on Afghanistan criticized the move. 18Abdallah Abdallah was a top leader in Afghanistan's former government. He called taking education away from girls "regrettable" in a message published on Twitter. 19Ahmad Saeedi, an expert on Afghan politics, said the world must find another way to interact with the Taliban. But "the issue of recognition," he said, "is over." 20I'm Dan Friedell. 21Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reports by VOA and the Associated Press. 22_______________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24setback - n. a failure or defeat 25beg -v. to ask seriously for something 26authorities - n. people in charge 27revert -v. to go back to something in the past 28legitimate -adj. true or real 29alarm - n. something that is concerning 30interact - v. to mix or work with something 31_____________________________________________________________ 32We want to hear from you. Do you think the Taliban will change its mind? 33We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 34Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.