Human Rights Watch (HRW) has demanded the immediate release of Ismail Mashal, a journalism professor who was arrested by the Taliban for his peaceful protests against the ban on women and girls’ education.
HRW has called on the Taliban to end restrictions on women and girls’ rights.
Mashal tore up his diploma live on TV after the Taliban announced the order banning women from university education, wailing “If my sister and my mother can’t study, then I do not accept this education.”
|University lecturer who tore up his diploma live on air gives away his books on the streets
|Taliban arrests university lecturer who tore up his diploma live on TV
The Taliban security agents arrested last Thursday for “provocative actions against the state” and “gathering a large crowd on the road.” His aide said he was “beaten mercilessly” as he was being taken away.
HRW Assistant Researcher Sahar Fetrat said “Mashal’s arrest shows that the Taliban’s unwillingness to tolerate dissent is not limited to women but extends to anyone who dreams of a rights-respecting and more equal Afghanistan.
“Public protests involving Afghan men standing up for women’s rights have been rare, which is why the actions of Ismail Mashal are important – and heroic.”
