Kabul (TDI): The Taliban’s acting deputy foreign minister called on his senior leadership to open schools for girls.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, who previously led a team of negotiators at the Taliban’s political office in Doha before US troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, said in a speech at the weekend that restrictions on girls and women’s education were not in line with Islamic Sharia law.
“We request the leaders of Afghanistan to open the doors of education,” he said, according to media reports.
He states, “In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the doors of knowledge were open to both men and women.”
“Today, out of a population of 40 million, we are committing injustice against 20 million people,” he added, referring to the female population of the country.
Also Read: Taliban Order NGOs to Stop Employing Women
The Taliban have said they respect the rights of women in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture.
They made a sharp u-turn on promises to open girls’ high schools in 2022, and have since said they were working on a plan for the schools to re-open but have not given any timeline.
Also Read: Taliban Bans Windows Viewing Women’s Spaces
They closed universities to girl students at the end of 2022.
The policies have been widely criticised globally, including by Islamic scholars, and Western diplomats have said any path towards formal recognition of the Taliban administration is blocked until there is a change on their policies towards women.
