The Taliban has banned females from universities and higher education learning in Afghanistan. Minister Nida Mohammad Nadim opuses female education entirely and has pledged to eliminate secular schooling.

Nadim, former provincial governor, police chief and military commander, was appointed minister in October by the supreme Taliban leader. Nadim blamed women: “We told girls to have proper hijab but they didn’t and they wore dresses like they are going to a wedding ceremony” he said.

“Girls were studying agriculture and engineering, but this didn’t match Afghan culture. Girls should learn, but not in areas that go against Islam and Afghan honor” he continued, alleging that schools could possibly reopen for women when the issues are “resolved.”

The Associated Press notes that “the Taliban made similar promises about high school access for girls, saying classes would resume for them once ‘technical issues’ around uniforms and transport were sorted out, but girls remain shut out of classrooms.”

The Associated Press reports:

Despite initially promising a more moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities, the Taliban have widely implemented their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, since they seized power in August 2021.

They have banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most fields of employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms. At the same time Afghan society, while largely traditional, has increasingly embraced the education of girls and women over the past two decades.

Global pressure has been placed on the Taliban to reconsider its decision, as well as backlash domestically, such as from the country’s popular cricket players.

One local media outlet reported that males at Nangarhar Medical University walked out in solidarity and refused to sit for exams until women are reinstated.