Male students show solidarity with #LetHerLearn in Afghanistan

Opposing the new Taliban diktat banning entry of girls into universities, the male students have refused to attend classes until and unless their female counterparts too are allowed to do so.

Kabul, Dec 27: In a heartening news on the women's rights front, the male counterparts of the female students in Afghanistan have opposed the new Taliban diktat banning entry of the girls into the universities. Showing solidarity with the #LetHerLearn campaign, the male students have refused to attend the classes until and unless the female students too are allowed to do so.

Incensed over the ban on their female class fellows, the boys could be seen boycotting classes and walking out of examination centres. There are several videos on the internet showing the male students walking out of the examination halls and classrooms. Even the professors have condemned the Taliban for this act.

Taliban image hit

If one looks at the acts of the Taliban in the recent past, ban on the education of women is the single biggest issue that has damaged the credibility of their regime. Condemnations are piling up from all over the world, even from the nations which are helping it out financially and diplomatically.

The Taliban regime has, however, a different story to tell about the ban. Its Education minister Nadia Mohammed Nadeem has claimed that the decision was taken as there were reports that "women were not wearing Hizab in proper manner." Only after that, the Taliban banned the women from accessing the universities and entering the examination centres, he sought to explain and clarified that they would not be allowed until further notice.

Talking about the subjects girls opted for, Nadeem said that the girls used to opt for subjects like engineering and agriculture. The girls must learn, but they must not opt for those subjects that do not coincide with Islam nor with the Afghan culture, he said, adding that the ban was necessary to stop mixing of genders in the universities.

Views of world community

Reacting to the developments, Washington's Deputy UN Ambassador Robert Wood said, "Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community, until they respect the rights of all Afghans."

There is an old African proverb about women's education: "If you educate a man then you educate an individual, if you educate a woman then you educate the whole nation." The Taliban must learn to think and act on these lines so as to keep pace with the progress of mankind in the modern world.