Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education on Saturday issued a new decree banning female students from taking university entrance exams (Kankor) this year in all public and private universities in Afghanistan.
In a fresh announcement, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education has announced a complete ban on female students’ enrollment in educational institutions effective from Saturday, January 28, 2023.
The statement reads that private universities are requested to adhere to the rule and regulations of the ruling regime and avoid violet the latest decree restricting the admission of female students in private universities, otherwise, they will be penalized accordingly.
The decree comes as the international community and aid organizations have repeatedly called on the Taliban government to lift the bans on the rights of Afghan women and girls to attend education, work, sports, and the public environment.
The gender-based restrictions have had negative impacts on the living conditions of ordinary people and the distribution of aid to vulnerable families across the country, as some aid organizations have set the return of female NGO workers as a precondition to the resumption of their much-needed aid delivery to the people of Afghanistan.
On the contrary, the Taliban officials insist the restrictions on women’s employment and education are temporary – and introduced in line with the Afghan culture – and do not contradict Islamic principles.
The latest decision further isolates Afghan girls from the public space, however, the association of private universities and advocacy organizations have yet to comment in this regard.
