The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia reacted to the recent decision by the Taliban to ban university education for women in Afghanistan. In a tweet thread posted on December 21, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia wrote that the country is deeply concerned and disappointed with the decision of the Taliban to suspend access to university education for women in Afghanistan.
“Education is a fundamental right for all men and women. Indonesia continues to urge the Taliban to provide undisrupted access to education for women”, the Ministry added in another Twitter thread.
The Indonesian Ministry for Foreign Affairs wrote that this country strongly believes that women’s participation in all aspects of society is crucial to the attainment of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan.
In an official letter sent to state and private universities, the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education has indefinitely banned higher education for female students. Higher education is “suspended” for female students until further notice, the letter reads.
This decision by the Taliban has drawn reactions inside and outside the country. The Us, Germany, The UK, the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Human Rights Watch and many more have condemned this decision.
After the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the group effectively banned girls from secondary education in March 2021.
Though some of the group’s officials repeatedly said that they were working on a plan to re-open schools for girls above the 6th grade, the plan never materialized.
In addition to the ban on university education for girls, the Taliban also prevented girls from going to private tuition centers on Wednesday in the capital Kabul and some other provinces.
