Taliban Minister Who Slammed Girls’ Education Ban Leaves Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban imposed a three-year ban on female education in 2021.

Tue Feb 04 2025
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KABUL, Afghanistan: A Taliban minister who publicly criticised the ban on girls’ and women’s education in the country has reportedly fled Afghanistan, amid fears of arrest.

Last month Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Afghanistan’s acting deputy foreign minister, in a speech said that the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ and women’s education were not in line with Islamic Shariah law.

Stanikzai spoke out during a graduation ceremony in Khost province, urging the Taliban leadership to reconsider its stance, saying, “There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future.” He added, “We are being unjust to 20 million people,” referring to the female population of Afghanistan.

His statement marked the first public criticism of the Taliban’s education policy, highlighting internal divisions within the group.

Despite widespread international condemnation, the Taliban has maintained a nationwide ban on female education for over three years, preventing girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade.

Around 1.1 million girls have been denied access to formal education since September 2021, when the Taliban suspended secondary schools for girls.

Following his speech, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, reportedly ordered the arrest of Stanikzai and imposed a travel ban on him, Express Tribune reported.  However, reports indicate that the minister managed to leave Afghanistan and travel to Dubai, where he confirmed his departure, citing health reasons.

Stanikzai in September 2022, publicly stated that there was no religious justification for denying girls education, calling it an obligation for both genders.

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His departure shows signs of internal rifts within the Taliban especially their policy over the education ban. The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has highlighted internal divisions within the group, particularly between the Taliban’s power centres in Kabul and Kandahar.

Last week, another senior Taliban figure, Mohammad Nabi Omari, the deputy minister of interior, publicly spoke about the harm caused by the education ban.

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