Taliban officials on Saturday issued their first ‘fatwa’ in Afghanistan, banning co-education in government and private universities in the restive Herat province. The officials described it as the ‘root of all evils in society’ validating fears that the country will undergo major ‘regressive’ changes despite their promises.
The announcement comes as the terror group vowed to respect women’s rights in Afghanistan. The decision comes after the Islamist fundamentalist group held a three-hour-long meeting with university lecturers and owners of private institutions. They stated that there is ‘no alternative and justification’ for continuing with co-education. Taliban spokesperson Mullah Farid, who represented the group during the meeting called co-education ‘the root of all evils in society’ and demanded that the system be brought to an end. As per Afghanistan’s Khaama Press, girls will no longer be allowed to sit in the same classes as boys in universities situated in western Herat province. The latest Fatwa banning co-education in universities would have a serious impact on the education of women. According to Afghan media, there are separate classes for boys and girls in schools and in universities, they are allowed to pursue co-education. Virtuous female lecturers would be allowed to teach only female students but not male ones. However, with the new Taliban Fatwa coming into the picture, universities would be no longer allowed to do so. In the last two decades, Afghanistan has implemented a mixed system of co-education and gender-based separate classes in all universities and institutes.
