In Rare Snub To Taliban, Afghanistan Minister Calls For Scrapping Ban On Education For Women

<p>A senior Taliban government official has urged the group&rsquo;s leader to scrap education bans on Afghan women and girls during a speech at a religious school in southeastern Khost province on Saturday, as reported by news agency The Associated Press (AP).</p>
<p>The remarks made by Sher Abbas Stanikzai, political deputy at the Foreign Ministry, is being seen as a are public rebuke of government policy. In his speech, he added that there is no excuse for them to deny education to the girls in the country.</p>
<p>The current Taliban administration has banned the education for female beyond year six. As reported by the AP, there were reports that the government had also stopped medical training and courses for women. In Afghanistan, women and girls can only be treated by female doctors and health professionals. However, the authorities have yet to confirm the medical training ban.</p>
<p>In a video shared by the high ranking official on X (formerly Twitter), he said that the path they are currently following stems from personal attitudes, and not Sharia.</p>
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<p>&ldquo;We call on the leadership again to open the doors of education. We are committing an injustice against 20 million people out of a population of 40 million, depriving them of all their rights. This is not in Islamic law, but our personal choice or nature”, Stanikzai said.</p>
<p>Earlier also he has advocated that women and girls deserve to have an education. In a September 2022, a year after schools closed for girls and months and before the introduction of a university ban, he said the same.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Pakistan, has also urged Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban on women and girls&rsquo; education.</p>
<p>As of now, no country recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. However, countries like Russia and India have been building ties with Afghan authorities.</p>