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24 December 2022
ISLAMABAD: After Saudi Arabia called on the Taliban to reverse a ban on women pursuing higher education in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also expressed their reservations over the issue while pointing out that Islam safeguarded women’s rights and did not impose such restrictions.
The Taliban administration ordered women across Afghanistan to stop attending private and public universities earlier this week without giving any reason. The announcement led to international backlash, with many countries and rights activists condemning the development.
According to global media organizations, Taliban security forces in Kabul enforced the higher education ban by stopping women from going to institutions of higher learning.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a wide-ranging conversation on the overall situation in Afghanistan while also focusing on the ban.
“Both leaders emphasized that Islam has accorded women a privileged position, and safeguarded their rights,” said the foreign office in a statement. “They affirmed the need to guarantee women’s rights, as well as the importance of full and equal participation of women and girls in all aspects of life.”
Earlier, the Saudi foreign ministry expressed surprise and regret at the decision and said it was met with astonishment in all Muslim countries.
The Taliban regime returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after the international forces, led by the United States, left the war-torn country after staying there for about 20 years in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. #
