Adedokun Waliyu 
Taliban authorities have reopened Afghan universities on Monday after a winter break, but only men returned to classrooms as ban on women in higher education still intact.
The university ban is one of several restrictions imposed on women since the Taliban reclaimed power in August 2021 and has sparked global outrage — including across the Muslim world.
Students have already reacted to the imposition and one of the female students described it as “heartbreaking.” AFP said.
“It’s heartbreaking to see boys going to the university while we have to stay at home,” said Rahela, 22, from the central province of Ghor.
“This is gender discrimination against girls because Islam allows us to pursue higher education. Nobody should stop us from learning.”
The Taliban government imposed the ban after accusing female students of ignoring a strict dress code and a requirement to be accompanied by a male relative to and from campus.
Most universities had already introduced gender-segregated entrances and classrooms, as well as allowing women to be taught only by female professors or elderly men.
“It’s painful to see that thousands of girls are deprived of education today,” Mohammad Haseeb Habibzadah, a student of computer science at Herat university, told AFP.
“We are trying to address this issue by talking to lecturers and other students so that there can be a way where boys and girls could study and progress together.”
Ejatullah Nejati, an engineering student at Kabul University, Afghanistan’s largest, said it was a fundamental right of women to study.
“Even if they attend classes on separate days, it’s not a problem. They have a right to education and that right should be given to them,” Nejati said as he entered the university campus.
Waheeda Durrani, a journalism student in Herat until she was barred from university last year, said the Taliban government wanted women to remain uneducated.
“If Afghan girls and women get educated, they will never accept a government that exploits Islam and the Koran,” she said.
They will stand for their rights. That’s the fear the government has.”
“At the capital’s private Rana university male students trickled back to classes on Monday.
“My sister, unfortunately, cannot come to the university. She is trying to study at home,” said Ebratullah Rahimi, another journalism student.
Posters dating from before the ban showing how women needed to dress were still on display in the university corridors.
Several Taliban officials say 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.
