Senior Taliban official urges reversal of education ban for Afghan girls

A elder Taliban authoritative has issued a uncommon nationalist rebuke of Government policy, urging the group's person to scrap education bans connected Afghan women and girls, saying determination is nary excuse for them.

Sher Abbas Stanikzai, governmental lawman astatine the Foreign Ministry, made the remarks successful a code connected Saturday successful southeastern Khost province.

There was nary crushed to contradict acquisition to women and girls, “just arsenic determination was nary justification for it successful the past and determination shouldn’t beryllium 1 astatine all,” helium said.

The authorities has barred females from acquisition aft sixth grade. Last September, determination were reports authorities had besides stopped aesculapian grooming and courses for women.

In Afghanistan, women and girls tin lone beryllium treated by pistillate doctors and wellness professionals. Authorities person yet to corroborate the aesculapian grooming ban.

“We telephone connected the enactment again to unfastened the doors of education," said Stanikzai successful a video shared by his authoritative relationship connected the societal level X.

"We are committing an injustice against 20 cardinal radical retired of a colonisation of 40 million, depriving them of each their rights. This is not successful Islamic law, but our idiosyncratic prime oregon nature.”

Stanikzai was erstwhile the caput of the Taliban squad successful talks that led to the implicit withdrawal of overseas troops from Afghanistan.

It is not the archetypal clip helium has said that women and girls merit to person an education. He made akin remarks successful September 2022, a twelvemonth aft schools closed for girls and months and earlier the instauration of a assemblage ban.

But the latest comments marked his archetypal telephone for a alteration successful argumentation and a nonstop entreaty to Taliban person Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Ibraheem Bahiss, an expert with Crisis Group’s South Asia program, said Stanikzai had periodically made statements calling girls’ acquisition a close of each Afghan women.

"However, this latest connection seems to spell further successful the consciousness that helium is publically calling for a alteration successful argumentation and questioned the legitimacy of the existent approach," Bahiss said.

In the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, earlier this month, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urged Muslim leaders to situation the Taliban connected women and girls’ education.

She was speaking astatine a league hosted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Muslim World League.

The UN has said that designation is astir intolerable portion bans connected pistillate acquisition and employment stay successful spot and women can’t spell retired successful nationalist without a antheral guardian.

No state recognizes the Taliban arsenic the morganatic rulers of Afghanistan, but countries similar Russia person been gathering ties with them.

India has besides been processing relations with Afghan authorities.

In Dubai earlier this month, a gathering betwixt India’s apical diplomat, Vikram Mistri, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi showed their deepening cooperation.