Taliban Official Urges Group Leader to Lift Ban on Girls' Education

A senior Taliban official emphasized that there is 'no justification' for banning girls from education and called on the group's leader to lift these prohibitions. Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, an advisor and assistant in the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recently stated in a speech in Khost province, Afghanistan, that 'there is no justification for the prohibition of girls' education.' He has made similar statements before, including in 2022, but this is the first time he has directly asked the group's leader to revoke these bans. Since the Taliban regained power in August 2021, women have gradually been removed from public spaces, with the United Nations condemning the situation as 'gender apartheid.' Taliban officials have banned education for girls and women beyond primary school, restricted employment, and blocked women's access to parks and other public places. The Taliban leader even issued a decree this month prohibiting the construction of windows in residential buildings overlooking areas used by women, with existing windows also required to be blocked. Stanekzai criticized the ban on education for Afghan girls and women, calling it an injustice against half of the country's population. In his recent remarks at a gathering in Khost, he stated that the doors to education 'must be open to all.' The UN Security Council has expressed 'deep concern' about the Taliban government's further restrictions on women. In his speech, which was published by several Afghan media outlets, Stanekzai reiterated that 'there is no justification for the prohibition of girls' education, and no excuse can be found for it.' During peace negotiations with representatives of Donald Trump's first administration in Qatar, including Mike Pompeo, the Taliban promised that if included in the government, they would agree to women's education. Stanekzai had previously led the Taliban team in these negotiations. However, after the start of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under Joe Biden and the Taliban's return to power in Kabul, the group banned girls from education, citing Islamic Sharia law. The United Nations has previously stated that the Taliban has issued over 50 repressive decrees against women. In contrast, the Taliban government claims that Islamic laws guarantee the 'rights' of Afghan men and women.