“They beat some of our girls and arrested others”: Taliban arrest five women protesting university ban
Five women taking part in protests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, have been arrested by the Taliban after fighting against the newly placed ban on women attending universities. Three journalists were also arrested.
Hundreds of women were refused entry into universities on Wednesday, only a day after the ban was announced. It is the latest policy restricting women’s education following the Taliban’s return to power last year, with girls having already been excluded from most secondary schools.
The new ban was implemented with immediate effect by the higher education minister on Tuesday, with public and private universities ordered to bar women from attending. The education ministry said its scholars had evaluated the university curriculum and environment, and attendance for girls would be suspended until a “suitable environment” was provided.
Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban minister of higher education, later said on state television that women were banned from attending university for not following the dress code. “They were dressing like they were going to a wedding,” he said.
On Thursday, around two dozen women dressed in hijabs marched through the streets of Kabul, raising banners and shouting slogans, as seen in footage shared on social media. The group had initially planned to gather in front of Kabul University, the country’s largest and most prestigious educational institution, but were forced to change location after authorities deployed a large number of personnel there.
According to the BBC, a number of women involved in the protest claimed they were beaten or arrested by female Taliban officers. One of the protestors revealed to the BBC that she was “beaten badly” but evaded being brought into custody. “They beat some of our girls and arrested some others. They were about to take me too, but I managed to escape. But I was beaten badly,” she said.
Some men have responded with acts of civil disobedience in solidarity with the protestors. Around 50 male university professors at public and private institutions have resigned from their positions, while male students have reportedly refused to sit their exams.
Despite promising a softer rule after seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have continued to roll back women’s rights and freedoms in the country. Before Tuesday’s announcement, women were already facing extreme discrimination in universities. They were only allowed to apply for a limited range of subjects, had gender-segregated entrances and classrooms and could only be taught by women or old men.
