Several students at Balkh University have expressed concern over the Taliban’s increasingly strict regulations. They say Taliban, as part of their continuing pattern of restrictions, are smashing the smartphones of students who bring them to campus and physically assaulting the students themselves.
These students also emphasize that, beyond the ban on smartphones and the violent reprisals for carrying them, the Taliban treat students “like slaves.” According to them, the Taliban’s conduct at Balkh University has caused many young people to develop a negative view of Islam.
One student at Balkh University, speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, said: “Today, one of our friends wanted to bring his mobile phone inside the university, but Taliban guards at the university gate beat him severely and drew weapons on him. The poor student was trembling with fear. We then went to the Deputy for Student Affairs and shared the incident with him, but he responded that they have even been authorized to beat and shoot students, and there is nothing he can do.”
Nawid (pseudonym), another student, said: “Taliban treat students in a degrading manner. This behavior is not only contrary to human principles, but it also undermines the academic and moral future of society. They force students to do things that have nothing to do with studying or university life, including being compelled to grow beards, wear caps, and endure interference in the most private matters of people’s lives.”
This student says that in academic theses, if there is even the slightest reference critical of the group’s regime, the thesis is rejected and the student may even face reprimand. According to him, there is no freedom of education or research, and professors and students alike live in fear of the Taliban.
Zaman (pseudonym), another student at Balkh University, said: “In terms of academic motivation, students are fed up and exhausted from their studies, to the point that the majority want to drop out. Strict rules such as the prohibition on shaving beards, the requirement to wear caps, and the ban on smartphones have been imposed at a time when many students rely on digital books and cannot afford printed copies. Those present at the university gate face harsh treatment and beatings, and in some cases, weapons are even drawn against them.”
According to this student, in most cases, course subjects must be based on the principles of Hanafi jurisprudence, and the use of Ja’fari jurisprudence sources is not permitted. He adds that in many theses, the use of Ja’fari jurisprudence sources is likewise disallowed, and if used, the thesis is rejected. He also notes that subjects related to law must be examined solely from an Islamic perspective, and if they are not, students are referred to guidance and da’wa committees.
Previously, students at universities across the country had confirmed that the Taliban had forced them to sign compulsory pledge forms. Under these pledges, students were obligated to follow the Hanafi school of thought and adhere to mandatory dress codes. According to these forms, students who follow other schools of Islamic thought are pressured and compelled to comply with stringent restrictions.
Article Six of this compulsory pledge states: “Given that the people of Afghanistan are followers of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah or commonly known as Sunni Islam and adherents of the school of Imam al-A’zam Abu Hanifa, may God have mercy on him, I too shall follow this school of thought to preserve unity and solidarity.”
Previously, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban’s acting Minister of Higher Education, had stated that administering examinations to Taliban members to determine their academic rank constitutes disrespect toward the group’s fighters. In a speech at Herat University, he emphasized that a Taliban’s academic degree should be calculated based on the number of mines he has laid.
Scholars at Risk (SAR) also announced in a report under its Academic Freedom Monitoring Project that the Taliban have confiscated books incompatible with Hanafi jurisprudence and have arrested and imprisoned several university professors who had facilitated access to education for women.
This comes even though the Taliban’s final scholarly committee for the revision of Kabul University’s curriculum had previously removed 96 books and course pamphlet titles from the educational programs of various faculties. A copy of this list, obtained by the Hasht-e Subh Daily, shows that the sweeping removals primarily targeted the humanities faculties, particularly social sciences, law, and political science, and fine arts. At the same time, the Taliban conditionally approved 194 book titles subject to correction and revision, and authorized the teaching of an additional 981 pamphlets and books.
The Hasht-e Subh Daily had previously obtained information indicating that the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education had formed a committee of 55 members to “Islamize” the country’s higher education curriculum in accordance with the group’s particular interpretation. According to the findings of this report, a number of clerics close to Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban Supreme Leader, and Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the group’s Minister of Higher Education, have traveled from Kandahar to Kabul and are making fundamental changes to the academic content of the country’s universities. According to sources, had some university professors not been part of this committee, the Taliban would have eliminated 25 academic disciplines from the university structure by now.
Sources had confirmed at the time that any book contradicting the Taliban’s beliefs and ideology, the Hanafi school of thought, the group’s policies and regulations, or lacking appropriate academic content for teaching, faces a 90 percent probability of rejection. According to sources, if an assessment determines that 50 percent of a book’s content aligns with the Taliban’s criteria and the author is a domestic figure, the book is sent for revision. However, if the author is a foreign national, the book is rejected outright.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
دانشجویان بلخ: محدودیتهای طالبان آزادی تحصیلی را نابود کرده است
