Afghanistan: One year since education ban, girls demand reopening of universities

Kabul [Afghanistan], December 21 : After the completion of one year of the ban on girls' education, women in Afghanistan are demanding that the Taliban regime reopen universities, Khaama Press reported.
Afghan female students were banned from attending universities one year ago, on December 20, as a result of a decision by the cabinet of the Taliban administration. These female students are now demanding the Taliban government to reopen the university gates.
Throughout this year, girls and women have never remained silent against the ban on education and have expressed their opposition to these restrictions in various ways. However, the inflexibility of the Islamic Emirate towards women's freedoms and the lack of practical action by the international community have increased disappointments.
Salim Paigeer, the head of the Committed Thought Party of Afghanistan, in an interview with Khaama Press, says that "depriving girls of education has a detrimental effect on the lives of the Afghan people".
He added, "Girls do not study just to become literate, but they study to play a valuable role in the future of Afghanistan".
Paigeer calls the continued ban on girls from universities a 'disaster'.
According to UNESCO, the number of female university students was five thousand in 2001, and this figure had approached one hundred thousand by 2021, but in 2023 it has dropped to zero, Khaama Press reported.
On the other hand, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in one of its reports stated that as a result of being deprived of education, girls have faced early and forced marriages.
Meanwhile, girls, on the first anniversary of being deprived of education, are asking the Islamic Emirate to reopen the university gates to them.
Pariwush, an economics student at Bamyan University, speaking to Khaama Press, says that, "The Taliban should reconsider its decision to suspend universities for girls and allow them to study".
She added, "The current government should reduce its anger and reconsider this matter. Continuing our education is important under any circumstances. We have no problem with wearing a hijab, it is enough to participate in classes".
Samira Gohari, another female student who was simultaneously studying law, political science, and journalism at two universities, is now demanding the authorities of the Taliban to reopen the universities for girls.
However, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education of the Taliban, without providing explanations, says that the presence of girls in universities is suspended 'until further notice', according to Khaama Press.
Notably, the Ministry of Education celebrated the graduation of two thousand students on Thursday, December 21, none of whom were girls.
It is also pertinent that girls, as a result of being deprived of universities, have turned to online classes or distance learning. 'Women's Online University' is one of the online platforms that says it has more than 14,000 female students engaged in various fields of study.
According to a UNAMA report, after the ban on education, girls have turned to forced and early marriages, tailoring, embroidery, and handicrafts, Khaama Press reported.