Rethinking Women's Education in Kabul

It's rare for a Taliban functionary to publicly question the Kabul regime's discriminatory policies towards women. So, how come Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, deputy minister at the Afghan foreign ministry, said there was no reason to deny education to women and girls?

- 

After gaining office in 2021, the Taliban banned girls over the age of 12 from attending school and banned female teachers from teaching boys. This intervention, driven by a conservative reading of Islamic scriptures, has resulted in the denial of education to at least 1.4 million girls, according to a Unesco study. And the ban on women teachers has caused a massive shortage of teaching staff. Stanikzai, clearly, recognises the implications of this disastrous outcome.