Women taking a test at the Institute of Health Sciences, Ghazni, Afghanistan. Photo Credit: NBC News
Taliban authorities have started restricting scholars from going abroad for education, training or other academic activities including fellowships. In a recent article published in Times Higher Education, it was reported that scholars in Afghanistan are now required to receive written permission from the office of the supreme leader of the Taliban, currently occupied by Hibatullah Akhundzada, to go abroad for any academic purpose. Without written permission, scholars leaving for opportunities abroad risk being fired from their jobs, if they want to return to Afghanistan.
An Afghan academic quoted in the Times Higher Education has said that both the chancellor and the dean of their school told them that they would lose their salary as well as their job if they decided to take up the fellowship they won from a European institution. Especially for academics who want to remain in Afghanistan, this is yet another serious violation of academic freedom by the Taliban authorities.
Space and opportunities for academic activity have been shrinking relentlessly since the Taliban took over in 2021. Recently, a decision by the authorities have prohibited women from receiving medical education, effective December 3. An estimated 30,000 women receiving medical education to become nurses and midwives were told not to return to school. This measure endangers the availability of healthcare within the country, since women and girls can only receive medical care from female medical professionals. But the new decision also eliminates one of the last avenues for women to receive education. Many women had started seeking education in medical institutes to become nurses and midwives after bans on higher education for women. Even for those who have recently received their degrees, employment prospects are bleak.
According to France24, the recent decision has led to small protests around Afghanistan. Outside the country, bodies such as the United Nations Security Council have criticized this ban in a unanimous resolution. Meanwhile, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that “The reported new ban will further deepen systematic discrimination against women and girls, and further weaken an already fragile healthcare system amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis”.
UN experts and non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International rightly describe the current situation in Afghanistan as “gender apartheid”. Since 2021, Taliban authorities have prohibited women from receiving formal education beyond 6th grade, significantly restricted employment opportunities for women and introduced de facto restrictions on the public presence of women including a ban on hearing women’s voices in public.
Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) condemns the ongoing attacks and restrictions on academic freedom within Afghanistan, particularly for women. We call on authorities in Afghanistan to immediately reverse these decisions and invite the global community dedicated to upholding human rights globally to join our call.
Read our country profile on Afghanistan here.
Sources and further reading:
Comentarios