BY: Abbas Ali
Nearly a year after the Taliban seized control, Afghanistan has notoriously become the world’s only country where girls are forbidden from attending secondary schools, solely because of their gender.
The ban on education for Afghan girls started on July, 14 after the Taliban returned to power. The group has refused to let young girls return to class despite pressure from some within Afghan society and the international community.
Now these rulers on Dec, 20, 2022 banned university education for female nationwide is clearly another broken promise-‘’we have seen since their takeover…a lessening of space for women, not only in education, but access to public areas’’. It’s another very troubling move and it’s difficult to imagine how a country can develop, can deal with all the challenges that it has without the acceptive participation of women and their education.
In the last year alone, restrictions on access to work for women have furthered Afghanistan’s failing economy, producing an economic loss of upto $1bn-about 5% of Afghanistan’s GDP. If women are not educated, they will be unable to contribute to the survival of their country.
The country has been reeling from humanitarian crises with more than half of the population facing hunger amid Western-imposed sanctions, as well as the freezing of humanitarian aid and nearly $10bn in Afghan central bank assets.
Education is a significant and basic right. In 2023, we shouldn’t be talking about why education matters. However, here we are. It is also essential to Afghanistan’s economic growth and stability. The public role of women in Afghan society will shrink even further as authorities continue to issue edicts limiting their access to work, education and their freedom of movement. There are no two ways about it: women and girls must be allowed to work, access education and to move freely. Efforts to rebuild Afghanistan in the wake of economic collapse will be undermined completely; many educated Afghans have already left the country over the last eighteen months. Afghanistan is in urgent need of a future generation of doctors, engineers, teachers, civil servants and much more.
What Is Lost When We Shut Girls out of School? The Talibans denial of education to half of the Afghan population is a misguided decision with potentially disastrous consequences for the future of the country. Such restrictions not only constitute a gross violation of internationally guaranteed rights and freedoms, they have profoundly negative implications for Afghan women and girls and Afghanistan itself.
The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan. The move is almost certain to hurt efforts by the Taliban to win recognition from potential international donors at a time when the country is mired in worsening humanitarian crises. Moreover, the decision will further alienate the Taliban from the international community and deny them the legitimacy they desire.
Western diplomats have repeatedly said that the Taliban lifting their ban on women and girls seeking education is a key for discussions to begin on international recognition.
‘’Afghan women are half of the society, and if they don’t have education, I don’t think we can contribute much to the prosperity of the country.’’ –Heela Yoon, Founder of ‘Afghan Youth Ambassadors for peace’.
The Taliban has defended its decision, saying such restrictions have been done to preserve ‘’national interest’’ and women’s ‘’honor’’. Several Taliban officials said the secondary education ban is only temporary, but they have also wheeled out a litany of excuses for the closure-from a lack of funds to the time needed to remodel the syllabus along Islamic lines.
The Taliban have portrayed their leader’s ban on secondary and higher education for Afghan girls and women as based in religious principles, but Muslim scholars and activists say gender-based denial of education has no religious justification. There is no mention in the Quran or prophetic sayings that justifies such action by the Taliban, rather ‘’Islam places great emphasis on the pursuit of knowledge.’’
While describe it un-Islamic some experts say the Taliban leader’s opposition to girls’ education might be shaped by Afghanistan’s patriarchal tribal traditions. Cultural restrictions that make it difficult for Muslim women to pursue work and education ‘’are unacceptable, In a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is known to have said, The best of you are those who are best to your women .In no way are we honoring and benefiting women if we place unfair restrictions on their ability to flourish.’’
One of the very last things written by Malcolm X before he was assassinated was in response to the question:’’ Now that you have visited and revisited many Muslim countries, what are your impressions regarding Islam and Muslims both in the present and in the future?’’ He said, Allah have mercy on him: ‘’…In every Middle East or African country I have visited, I noticed the country is as ‘’advanced’’ as its women are, or as backward as its women. By this I mean, in areas where the women have been pushed into the background and kept without education, the whole area or country is just as backward, uneducated and ‘underdeveloped.’ When the women are encouraged to get education and play in a more active role in the all-around affairs of the community and the country the entire people are more active, more enlightened and more progressive. Thus, in my opinion, the Muslim religious leaders of today must re-evaluate and spell out with clarity the Muslim position on education in general and education for women in particular. And then a vast program must be launched to elevate the standard of education in the Muslim world. An old African proverb states:’ Educate a man and you educate an individual; educate a woman and you educate an entire family.’’
