Taliban Official Urges Leader to Lift Education Ban on Afghan Women

KABUL, Afghanistan — A senior Taliban official has publicly called on the group’s leadership to reverse its ban on education for Afghan women and girls, marking a rare challenge to the government’s policies. Sher Abbas Stanikzai, the political deputy at the Foreign Ministry, made the appeal during a speech in southeastern Khost province on Saturday.

Stanikzai, addressing a ceremony at a religious school, stated there is no justification for denying education to women and girls. “We are committing an injustice against 20 million people out of a population of 40 million, depriving them of all their rights,” he said in a video shared on his official social media account. “This is not in Islamic law, but our personal choice or nature.”

The Taliban government has barred girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade since reclaiming power in 2021. Last September, reports emerged that authorities had also banned women from pursuing medical training, though this has not been officially confirmed. Women and girls in Afghanistan are only permitted to receive medical treatment from female doctors and health professionals.

Stanikzai, a key figure in the negotiations that led to the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, has previously advocated for girls’ education. However, his latest remarks represent the first time he has directly appealed to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada to change the policy. “We call on the leadership again to open the doors of education,” he said.

Ibraheem Bahiss, an analyst with Crisis Group’s South Asia program, noted that Stanikzai’s statement goes further than previous comments. “This latest statement seems to go further in the sense that he is publicly calling for a change in policy and questioned the legitimacy of the current approach,” Bahiss said.

The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights have drawn widespread international condemnation. Earlier this month, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urged Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban on the issue during a conference in Islamabad, Pakistan. The United Nations has stated that recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government is nearly impossible while such restrictions remain in place.

No country has formally recognized the Taliban regime, though some nations, including India and China, have been building ties with the group. In Dubai earlier this month, India’s top diplomat, Vikram Mistri, met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, signaling deepening cooperation between the two sides.