Men trickle back to Afghan universities after winter break, women remain barred by Taliban

Afghan universities reopened on Monday, March 6, following winter break, but only men trickled back to their classes and women remain barred by Taliban authorities. The university ban is one of the several restrictions imposed on women since the Taliban stormed back to power. Notably, the ban has sparked global outrage and despair among young people in the country.

The Taliban authorities have announced the reopening of state-run universities in the Afghan capital -- Kabul for only male students. According to a statement from the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, "Studies of the male students at governmental higher education institutions in the colder provinces will officially start from March 6 of the current year.”

Notably, schools and universities go on annual winter break in about 24 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. In 2022, the Islamist government banned higher education for female students saying women had not appropriately observed gender-based religious restrictions under the prior government which was backed by the United States.

Wheeling out a litany of excuses for the closure, the Taliban authorities claimed that the ban on women's education is temporary but despite promises, they have failed to reopen secondary schools for girls which have been closed for more than a year.

Taliban bars women from university education

In December last year, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers ordered an indefinite ban on university education for the country’s women, the Ministry of Higher Education said in a letter issued to all government and private universities.

“You all are informed to implement the mentioned order of suspending the education of females until further notice,” said the letter signed by the Minister for Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem.

Despite its initial promises of moderating rules that would respect rights for women and minorities, the Taliban instead implemented a strict interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia. The blanket ban on all women from universities came after they appeared in their high school graduation exams in 2022.