Naseer Ahmad Faiq, the Chargé d’Affaires of Afghanistan Permanent Mission to the UN, called the Taliban ban on women’s education “un-Islamic” and “deliberate to keep the people in darkness and ignorance.”
The Taliban on Wednesday prevented 100 female students from traveling to the United Arab Emirates to pursue studies at the University of Dubai.
The students had been granted full scholarships by a businessman from the UAE, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, and the University of Dubai.
Al Habtoor said that the Taliban had prevented the students from traveling “without justification” and that this was “a profound tragedy and a blow against the principles of humanity, education, equality, and justice.”
The Taliban’s decision to prevent girls from traveling to UAE to pursue their education has sparked widespread outrage.
Naseer Ahmad Faiq wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday:
Amnesty International has also condemned the Taliban’s decision to prohibit female students from traveling to Dubai to begin their university studies.
“This preposterous decision is a flagrant violation of the right to education and freedom of movement and demonstrates the continued gender persecution against women and girls in Afghanistan,” Amnesty International stated in a post on X. “The Taliban de-facto authorities must immediately reverse their decision and allow these female students to travel and study,” the organization has added.
Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), stated:
Shaharzad Akbar, the former head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), stated:
