Taliban refuse to yield over women

ISLAMABAD — The Taliban doubled down on their ban on women’s education, reinforcing in a message to private universities that Afghan women are barred from taking university entry exams, according to a spokesman.

The note Saturday came despite weeks of condemnation and lobbying by the international community for a reversal on measures restricting women’s freedoms.

The Taliban barred women from private and public universities last month. The higher education minister in the Talibanrun government, Nida Mohammed Nadim, has maintained that the ban is necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities — and because he believes some subjects being taught violate Islamic principles.

Higher Education Ministry spokesman Ziaullah Hashmi said Saturday that a letter reminding private universities not to allow women to take entrance exams was sent out. A copy of the letter, shared with the Associated Press, warned that women could not take the “entry test for bachelor, master and doctorate levels” and that if any university disobeys the edict, “legal action will be taken against the violator.”

Mohammed Karim Nasari, spokesperson for the private universities union, said the institutions were worried and distressed about this latest development.

“The one hope we had was that there might be some progress. But unfortunately, after the letter, there is no sign of progress,” he said. “The entire sector is suffering.”

Afghanistan has 140 private universities across 24 provinces, with 200,000 students. Out of those, some 60,000 to 70,000 are women. The universities employ about 25,000 people.