UN, EU condemn university closures to Afghans: ‘It’s a crime’

High Representative European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said Wednesday this “strong condemnation” of the EU’s decision by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to veto higher education women and recalled that gender discrimination is a crime against humanity.

” European Union strongly condemns the decision of the Taliban to suspend higher education for afghan women” Borrell said on his Twitter profile.

He said it was “a measure unique in the world” that “violates the rights and aspirations of Afghans and deprives Afghanistan women’s contribution to society.

In addition, he emphasized that “sex-based persecution is the crime against humanity.”

Taliban instructed the authorities of public and private sector universities to ban all types of education for women “with immediate effect and until further notice” in a new crackdown on the fundamentalist regime, which had already banned secondary education for girls a year ago.

Just two months ago, thousands of young people from all over the country were taking university entrance exams, which meant for thousands Afghan one of the last opportunities to get higher education.

Even though the fundamentalists promised to respect Afghan women’s rights To gain international recognition, the reality that women live in, Afghanistan this is increasingly reminiscent of the first Taliban regime in 1996 and 2001, when they were locked in their homes, unable to study or work.

For its part, the High Commissioner United Nations for Human Rights, Volker Türk, today denounced a measure introduced on Tuesday by the Afghan authorities that bans women from the country to study at the university and asked the Taliban to cancel it.

For Turk, this decision represents “another terrible and cruel blow to the rights women and girls Afghanin addition to a deeply regrettable setback for the entire country.”

According to the High Commissioner, the “systematic” exclusion of women from virtually all areas of public life in Afghanistan from arrival Taliban to power in 2021 is unparalleled in the rest of the world.

Türk expressed regret that this decision would deprive the country of future doctors, lawyers or professors, and recalled that this measure represents a “clear violation of the obligations Afghanistan on the international level”.

” women’s right access to all levels of education without discrimination is fundamental and undeniable,” concluded the Austrian diplomat.

Islamic countries are ‘alarmed’

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which includes 57 countries, today expressed “concern” about the Taliban’s ban on women’s education in Afghan universities and called for “de facto administration” Kabul “reverse this decision,” the Saudi Arabia-based agency said in a statement.

“OIC Secretary General Hussein Ibrahim Taha expressed “deep concern and condemnation of the measures taken by the de facto administration to close universities for girls and women for an indefinite period”, which he considered “reporting” and “alarming”.

This move caused great outrage in OKI (…) the Secretary General and his special representative have repeatedly warned the de facto authorities (in Kabul) not to take such a decision (…) the last warning was in mid-November,” the statement reads.

He also stressed that the Taliban would “significantly undermine their confidence” and also “deprive Afghan girls and women of their basic rights to education, employment and social justice.”

Since coming to power a year and a half ago Taliban introduced a list of restrictions on womensuch as banning teenagers from school, gender segregation in public places, or the obligation to wear a veil and be accompanied by a male relative on long journeys.

EFE