JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan religious scholars Saturday criticized a ban on female education, as a key Taliban minister warned clerics not to rebel against the government on the controversial issue.
Girls cannot go to school beyond sixth grade in Afghanistan, with the education ban extending to universities. Women are barred from public spaces, including parks, and most forms of employment. Last week, Afghan women were barred from working at the U.N., according to the global body, although the Taliban have yet to make a public announcement.
Authorities present the education restrictions as temporary suspensions rather than bans, but universities and schools reopened in March without their female students.
The bans have raised fierce international uproar, increasing the country’s isolation at a time when its economy has collapsed and worsenied a humanitarian crisis.
Two religious scholars who are well-known within Afghanistan said Saturday that authorities should reconsider their decision. Public opposition to Taliban policies is rare, although some Taliban leaders have voiced their disagreement with the decision-making process.
One scholar, Abdul Rahman Abid, said institutions should be permitted to re-admit girls and women through separate classes, hiring female teachers, staggering timetables, and even building new facilities.
Knowledge is obligatory in Islam for men and women, he told The Associated Press, and Islam allows women to study.
“My daughter is absent from school, I am ashamed, I have no answer for my daughter,” he said. “My daughter asks why girls are not allowed to learn in the Islamic system. I have no answer for her.”
He said reform is needed and warned that any delays are at the expense of the global Islamic community and also weakens the government.