KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has reiterated his call for the Taliban to reopen schools and universities to female students and allow women to return to work.
In his message for the upcoming Eid-al-Fiter, a Muslim festival marking the end of a month of fasting and prayer, Karzai emphasized the fundamental rights of women and girls to education and work, saying that their empowerment will contribute to Afghanistan’s liberation from poverty and regression.
“In order to build an independent and progressive nation, we should concentrate on educating all children, including girls, and make education accessible to everyone,” Karzai said.
The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 has had a devastating impact on the rights of women and girls. The Taliban has banned girls from attending school above the sixth grade and has imposed over 50 other restrictions on women’s freedom of movement and expression.
Despite significant pressure from human rights organizations, aid providers, and Islamic countries, the Taliban has continued imposing additional restrictions on women’s rights.
Over the past years, the majority of the world, including Islamic nations and organizations, has condemned the Taliban’s misogynistic policies, calling on the regime to abide by international laws and uphold the fundamental rights of women.
The unrecognized regime, however, argues that their policies and practices are rooted in Islamic Sharia law and Afghan traditions, claiming that human rights and equality are Western concepts that clash with Islamic principles.
Earlier, Dr. Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al Issa, the Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL), the largest Islamic NGO, also criticized the Taliban’s policies towards women, describing them as based on a “fundamentally flawed, selective, and extreme” interpretation of Islamic texts.
The head of MWL emphasizes that Islam not only regards women as equals to men but also condemns the discrimination against women that was prevalent in Arabia in the past.
“In the Qur’an, God describes human beings as rational, and nowhere in the Islamic tradition is the capacity for reason gendered,” he said.
To prevent further isolation on the international stage and within the Islamic community, he proposed that the Taliban realign with the broader principles of Islam and uphold the fundamental rights of women.
Since the Taliban banned women’s education and work, the former president of Afghanistan has repeatedly called on them to allow women to learn and return to the workforce.
On the eve of the new academic year in Afghanistan last month, Karzai emphasized the importance of learning and education for the survival, growth, honor, and liberation of any human society. He asked the Taliban to allow women and girls to access education.
The Taliban, however, have not yet responded to such calls from Karzai and any other political figures inside and outside the country.
