Pakistan PM Imran Khan justifies Taliban's ban on girls going to schools at OIC meet

In a shocking statement, Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Sunday, urged the international community to be 'sensitive to tribal customs' while justifying Taliban's stance on banning young girls from attending schools. Addressing the 17th session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) hosted in Islamabad, Khan gave the example of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where he claimed that locals won't send girls to schools even if a stipend was provided. Pakistan has been batting for global powers to recognize the Taliban govt.

Pak PM justifies Taliban's ban on girls going to schools

"Pre-conditions on the Taliban that they should hold up humanitarian and women rights and that terrorism should not flow from Afghanistan, otherwise financial aid will be cut, their foreign reserves frozen, banks shut - this is very important. The one time I met the Taliban finance minister, he categorically said that they want to comply with these three conditions. We have to be sensitive about human rights and women rights," he said.

He added, "We must understand the idea of human rights and women's rights is different in every society", giving the example of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Pakistan. He went on, "The city culture is completely different from the culture in rural culture. Kabul's culture was always different from rural areas, just like in Peshawar. We give stipends to the parents of the girls to send them to school, but in our tribal areas (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province) if we are not sensitive to the cultural norms, even with stipend they won't send them to school.

Taliban's harsh women mandate

After taking control of Afghanistan in August, Taliban enforced a new mandate where women attending universities must wear an abaya, or robe, and niqab, or burqa. Other rules include- Women will be taught by women, Men and women must be separated in a co-ed classroom, Men and women should use separate entrances and exits. Moreover, Taliban has ordered girls and young women to stay home from school. Apart from education, the Taliban has also banned women from appearing in television dramas, told female municipal employees to stay home unless their jobs could not be filled by a man. Women across Afghanistan have taken to the streets to protest.

The Taliban had taken control of Afghanistan in 1996- 2001, enforcing harsh conditions and rules following their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Under their rule, women had to cover themselves and only leave the house in the company of a male relative. The Taliban also banned girls from attending school, women from working outside their homes and from voting. With the US troop withdrawal after 20 years, the Taliban has defeated Panjshir resistance to claim full control in Afghanistan.