Former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said that the Taliban’s ban on women taking entrance exams at universities and private education institutions further hammers in the earlier edict banning women’s higher education.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, tweeted on Saturday, saying that the Taliban’s decision to ban women from taking entrance exams in private universities is a dictatorial and ignorant decision. He added it will increase the suffering of the Afghan people and increase the country’s international isolation.
The Taliban bans women from taking university entrance exams. This decision further hammers in the earlier edict banning women’s higher education.#Afghanistan #Taliban
[Thread]https://t.co/cXqa7eFWXI
— Zalmay Khalilzad (@realZalmayMK) January 28, 2023
“It is now clear that contrary to their assurances there is no intention for this ban to be temporary. This unconscionable decision also indicates that the efforts of Taliban leaders who oppose the ban have been rejected,” Zalmay Khalilzad said in a thread on Twitter.
“If they are sincere and want to stop their country’s slide back into a pariah state they must consider more effective measures. Leading Muslim scholars globally, such as Mavlavi Abdul Hamid, have stated unequivocally that this ban is Non-Islamic and lacks religious legitimacy,” Khalilzad tweeted.
Two days ago, the Taliban issued a new decree banning female students from taking university entrance exams (Kankor) this year in all public and private universities in Afghanistan.
This is despite the fact that the Taliban banned university education for women in an official regressive decree in November 2022.
