Key Points
- Afghan women say their dreams have been shattered by a Taliban decision to stop them from attending university.
- The decision has been condemned as 'shameful' by an Australian-based Afghan academic.
- The Afghan embassy in Canberra described the action as another 'historic injustice'.
Since seizing control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have eroded women's and girl's rights including banning access to secondary school education.
On Tuesday, the group took these measures a step further, banning women and girls from attending both government and private universities.
The Taliban’s higher education minister confirmed the decision and issued an official letter to all government and private universities to immediately implement the suspension order.
The decision has been widely condemned by advocates, politicians and human right organisations. Also, a number of Afghan academics have resigned from their jobs at government universities in protest.
'All our dreams are now buried'
Maryam* is a third-year law student at Salam University in Kabul. She says she was studying for her final exams of the semester when she learned of the Taliban's decision to ban women and girls from universities.
Speaking from Afghanistan, Maryam told SBS Pashto that she had experienced an overwhelming feeling of helplessness when she first heard the news.
"I woke up very reluctantly in the morning and went to the university where I witnessed a situation which I have never seen in my life," she said.
Girls were crying everywhere and their eyes were red.Maryam*
"They [girls] were hoping that education would bring success to their lives. Everyone had different hopes but [now], all their dreams have been buried.
"All of the [Afghan] girls are now thinking about how they can continue their studies. It’s not possible in Afghanistan and there is no other way, except escape from the country."
Afghan women hold their educational documents during a protest as they demand the Taliban government to provide them with job opportunities in Kabul, Afghanistan, 31 October 2022. Source: EPA / STRINGER/EPA/AAP Image
"The Taliban proved with this decision that they have not changed and they are still the Taliban of 20 years ago, when they brought violence," she said.
"We hope that the international community will not leave us alone. We need to get out of this darkness and follow the light. We want to live, we don't want to die."
'Feeling lucky but still disappointed'
Humaira Azizi is an Afghan girl who was granted a humanitarian visa by the Australian government in August this year.
Currently living in Sydney, she says she is grateful for having the freedom to be able to work and study in Australia.
Humaira Azizi.
"I have freedom of choice, to choose what I want to study [here in Australia] but if I was there [in Afghanistan], I would have no choice.
"Here [in Australia], I've got support to continue my education, I have the right to work and have all the freedom that a human can have."
While Humaira says she is happy and excited about having a new life in Australia, she is extremely disappointed at the Taliban rulers' recent decision which prevents girls from attending university classes.
"I have been in contact with one of my school friends [in Afghanistan] for a very long time. Today, when I woke up in the morning, I saw a story from her on WhatsApp [story status] that girls are banned from universities," she said.
I was really shocked and for five-10 minutes, I was thinking if it was me instead of her, what would I do?Humaira Azizi
Humaira receives support and mentorship from HOST International to continue her studies and achieve her employment goals in Australia.
She says she wants to study towards a Diploma of Community Services to serve the community but that her long-term goal is to become a lawyer in Australia.
"Since the day we arrived in Australia, I have been mentored, supported and guided in the right direction on my education and employment pathways by the staff at Host International," she told SBS Pashto.
"The Diploma of Community Services provides a platform from which I can help and serve different people in the community and I can give them support and assistance wherever they need it.
"I want to be a lawyer in the future "
'A shameful day'
Dr Ehsan Azari Stanizai is a former refugee from Afghanistan. He has been living in Australia for the past 27 years and currently works as a director of Lacan Study, Reading and Research Network in Sydney.
He says that banning girls from universities is a shameful action and that even some “prominent Taliban leaders" have expressed their disagreement with the decision.
The Taliban’s decision to ban university education for women is a day of shame for all Afghan people and a national humiliation for Afghanistan.Dr Ehsan Azari Stanizai
"Afghan girls have already been banned from secondary school education and women have been virtually excluded from work and participation in any social and cultural activity.
Dr Ehsan Azari Stanizai. Credit: Facebook
"They [Taliban] have not changed and they show their real face every day. This is a conspiracy against Afghans."
'Another historic injustice'
In a statement sent by the Afghan Embassy in Canberra to SBS Pashto, the embassy condemned the decision in "the strongest terms" and said the decision to ban Afghan women from education represented a "...grave violation of Islamic values, Afghanistan’s national identity, cultural heritage and universal human rights".
"It marks yet another historic injustice to the Afghan nation and people and has made Afghanistan the only country in the world in which women and girls are banned from access to education," the statement said.
Afghanistan embassy in Canberra. Credit: SBS Pashto/Mujeeb Muneeb
"We believe the time has come for the international community to adopt an adjusted approach with the Taliban and, by that virtue, a renewed effort to achieve real peace in a stable, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan where the rights, honour and dignity of our people are ensured."
*named changed to protect identity.
