Report: Taliban split over university ban on women

According to a media report, the Taliban government is divided after a university ban on women in Afghanistan. Today, the well-informed Afghan TV channel “Tolnonews” reported, quoting an unnamed source in the Ministry of Interior, that Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Defense Minister Mullah Yaqub Mujahid discussed reopening universities to women.

After the decision was widely criticized, the two Taliban ministers are scheduled to travel to the southern province of Kandahar for talks with Taliban leader Haibatullah Atchundsada.

The Taliban defend the university’s ban

The Taliban’s Minister of Higher Education, Sheikh Nada Muhammad Nadeem, defended a university ban on women in an interview on state television yesterday. The hardliner justified the strict step by contradicting the legitimate concept of the Taliban movement.

This included, for example, female students not adhering to Islamic dress codes or attending universities from the provinces without a male companion.

On Tuesday, the Taliban banned women from all universities in Afghanistan with immediate effect. Since assuming power in August 2021, Islamists have imposed significant restrictions on women’s rights. Girls and women are largely excluded from public life.