Taliban education minister, Mullah Neda Mohammad Nadim, has said that the group will have “no answer before God, the ulema (religious scholars) and the Muslim nation” if it lets women work in NGOs, go without hijab, go to parks and exercise.”
Speaking at an event, Mullah Nadim, who banned women from universities on 20 December 2022, reiterated that “survival of the [Taliban] government was dependent on pleasing God and strengthening his rule, not on gaining the foreigners’ approval.
Despite global outrage, the Taliban has refused to reverse its decision on banning women from universities, with Mullah Nadim defending it as “necessary to prevent mixing of genders.” The group swiftly followed the university ban with an order banning women from working for NGOs, which has resulted in many aid agencies suspending their operations, exacerbating the country’s already dire humanitarian crisis.
