For a year now, Afghan girls have been barred from entering universities, and their access to higher education has been prohibited. Across the globe, a spectrum of regimes exists, from the most democratic to the most oppressive. Among them, the Taliban stand out, transforming their aversion to education into a defining characteristic. The evolving geopolitical landscape in the region and globally has facilitated the Taliban’s rise to power. Numerous nations prioritize ousting the group; some even contemplate engagement with its rule. Nonetheless, no country worldwide can find a justifiable reason to oppose higher education for girls, save for certain sponsors of this group.
Taliban advocates, particularly certain Pakistani politicians supporting them, portray the denial of education to millions of Afghan girls as a cultural phenomenon rooted in the indigenous traditions of Afghanistan on the international stage. The primary spokesperson for the group, Mullah Fazlur Rahman, an advocate of its massacres and violence against the Afghan people since its emergence in the nineties, rationalizes depriving Afghan girls of education by invoking Afghan identity and Islam. Much like his disciples, he grapples with contradictions and duplicity in behavior. He does not oppose the education of girls in his own country, disapproves of suicide operations, nor endorses the enforcement of Taliban-style Sharia. Yet, he deems all these acceptable in Afghanistan. Taliban leaders also consent to sending their daughters to Pakistani and Qatari schools and, if possible, to Western countries. However, they are unwilling to grant the basic right to education to the daughters of the Afghan people.
Many distant observers, while not condoning certain behaviors of the Taliban, such as suppressing opponents, establishing prisons, conducting field trials, beheading enemies, suppressing street protests, and other illicit acts, interpret these actions within the context of consolidating the power of a repressive regime, deeming them predictable. What puzzles many is the group’s opposition to knowledge and education. They fail to comprehend why a regime would stand against the literacy and expertise of girls in a country. It is widely acknowledged that education and expertise fortify citizens, augmenting their capabilities across various domains and ultimately contributing to the empowerment and prosperity of the nation. Most governments globally, particularly those accountable to their citizens, diligently strive to enhance the abilities and capacities of their populace, providing them with diverse knowledge and skills to excel in the global competition for development and progress. What remains inexplicable to observers is why a political authority would obstruct such a process in its own country and deprive its people of such opportunities.
In reality, one of the primary motivations behind the Taliban’s opposition to the education of girls at the higher level and their denial of university education is the fear of empowering Afghan women. This group recognizes that higher education provides Afghan girls with the opportunity to become aware of their rights, develop their abilities, learn ways to defend their rights, and, if necessary, acquire the ability to organize and fight. With each addition to the knowledge and skills of girls, their capacity to assert themselves in the public sphere will increase, enabling them to play a role in political and social developments. This is precisely what the Taliban and any repressive regime intensely fear.
Closing universities to girls is tantamount to paralyzing half of society, equivalent to immobilizing it. This action affords repressive regimes an easier means to control citizens. Controlling society, subduing people, and depriving them of their freedoms are idealistic desires for all oppressive regimes, and they pursue all possible avenues to achieve them. For the Taliban, good citizens are those who are weak, dependent, powerless, fearful, subdued, and obedient. In the absence of capable and inquisitive citizens, it becomes easy to sell the country’s resources to foreign companies, distribute sources of income among their dependents, arbitrarily appropriate government revenues, hide behind corruption and nepotism, and pursue all illegal ways of profiteering away from the eyes of the people.
Depriving Afghan girls of higher education is a means to consolidate the despotism and self-centeredness of the rulers, making their path smoother and the manipulation of a country’s fate easier. Keeping Afghan girls deprived of higher education is part of a larger strategy that involves strengthening the foundations of long-term despotism. The less knowledgeable the people, the longer the tyranny will last. The wise saying from the ancient Persian sage, “To be powerful, one must be knowledgeable,” implies that rulers with power and self-interest will contend with the knowledge of citizens, making it easier to keep them in check.
The Taliban and their supporters will never admit to such things. Instead, they will resort to lies and ideological propaganda. However, for those familiar with dictatorship and self-centeredness, these policies are recognizable, and they understand how such systems adopt methods to oppress people and drag them into weakness and submission. Keeping girls illiterate means keeping the people powerless, creating a lifeless society, and stifling freedom. Afghanistan cannot escape its current abyss unless the rights of Afghan women, especially the right to education at the highest levels, are recognized for the girls of this land without any conditions, and any obstacles in this regard are removed from their path.