Thousands protest Taliban’s ban on education for Afghan women

Thousands of women’s rights activists on Thursday, defied the presence of security operatives and poured into major streets of Kabul, the Afghanistan capital, to protest the Taliban regime’s ban on university education for women and girls.

Similar protests were also staged in major cities like Takhar and Nangarhar provinces where the protesters demanded that women be allowed access to education and employment.

The protesters carried placards with inscriptions like “Rights for everyone or no one,” and chanted protest songs as they marched through the streets in the western part of Kabul which is home to the country’s largest universities.

The ban which was announced on Tuesday, a day before the universities’ final exams, has continued to draw condemnation around the world but the Taliban’s Higher Education Minister, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, defended the decision in a post on Twitter.

“The Nation is angry with me because of the closure of girls’ education, while this is the order of the Messenger of Allah.

Read also:Taliban bans Afghan women, girls from attending universities

“Islam does not allow women to do prostitution in the name of education. A woman is like a piece of land owned by a man, and she is obligated to be at his service, not perusing education,” he tweeted on Friday.

However, local media reported that the protests in Kabul were quickly shut down by Taliban security officials and that at least five women and a couple of male protesters were arrested.

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