EU condemns Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan women from universities

Brussels [Belgium], December 21 (ANI): The European Union condemns the decision of the Taliban (sanctioned by the UN for terrorism) to impose a ban on higher education for Afghan women, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.

“The EU strongly condemns the Taliban’s decision to suspend higher education for Afghan women. A unique move in the world that violates rights and aspirations of Afghans and deprives #Afghanistan of women’s contributions to society,” Borrell tweeted. The EU official also noted that gender persecution was a “crime against humanity.”

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan, which is ruled by the Taliban, prohibited girls from attending universities and other higher education institutions. Secondary education for girls has been prohibited in Afghanistan since September 2021.

The Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021 and imposed policies severely restricting basic rights–particularly those of women and girls, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The Islamic group dismissed all women from leadership posts in the civil service and prohibited girls in most provinces from attending secondary school. Taliban decrees prohibit women from traveling unless accompanied by a male relative and require women’s faces be covered in public–including women TV newscasters.

According to a UNICEF report released in August, the fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the country’s economy at least USD 500 million over the past 12 months, which amounts to 2.5 per cent of GDP. If three million girls had been able to finish their education and enter the work force, they would have added at least $5.4 billion to Afghanistan’s economy, the report added.

On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the need to ensure human rights in Afghanistan, in particular women and girls’ rights, the right of women to work, the right of girls to attend school at all levels.

“We have different ethnic groups, and it’s important that all ethnic groups are represented. A second aspect in relation to human rights, in particular women and girls’ rights, the right of women to work, the right of girls to attend school at all levels without discrimination,” the UN chief said at a press conference.