Taliban Allows Afghan Women to Work and Study

Kabul, MINA – Women in Afghanistan will be allowed to work and study up to university level, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Tuesday.

Speaking to Britain’s Sky News, Suhail Shaheen said “thousands” of schools continued to operate after the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital on Sunday, The New Arab reported.

The fall of Kabul has Afghan women worried about their future under hardline rule.

The international community has urged the militants to respect women’s rights.

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“Of course … we are committed to women’s rights, to education, to work, and to freedom of speech, according to our Islamic rules,” Shaheen said, when asked if the Taliban promised to respect women’s freedoms.

“Everyone should be equal… and there should be no discrimination in society,” he added.

But se said women were expected to adhere to the hijab, but did not need to cover their faces for the safety of the women themselves.

“These are not our rules, these are Islamic rules,” he added.

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Since the takeover of the capital, Shaheen has sought to calm global fears about the group’s return to power, which ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.

During Taliban rule, women were not allowed to work or leave their homes without a male escort, while schools for women and girls over the age of 10 were stigmatized.

Afghan women, including journalists, have begged for help as the militant group carried out a swift takeover of the country, including the capital Kabul on Sunday.

Many women journalists are scrambling to send identity documents to the embassy to ask for asylum. They also deleted all social media profiles and traces of their work for their safety.

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On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused the Taliban of severely restricting the rights of girls and women in the areas they captured at the time.

“I am… deeply disturbed by the early indications that the Taliban are imposing strict restrictions on human rights in areas under their control, particularly those targeting women and journalists,” Guterres told reporters. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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