Taliban Deputy Leader Calls for Lifting Ban on Girls' Education

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In a significant shift in Taliban rhetoric, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the acting deputy foreign minister, has publicly urged the Taliban leadership to allow Afghan girls to return to school. This appeal marks one of the strongest criticisms from within the Taliban regarding the current ban on female education, which has drawn widespread international condemnation.

During a speech over the weekend, Stanekzai emphasized that the education restrictions imposed on girls are inconsistent with Islamic Sharia law. He called for an end to the injustice against women, noting the immense impact on Afghanistan’s female population of approximately twenty million. “In the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the doors of knowledge were open to both men and women,” he stated, appealing to the principles of knowledge and equality.

The Taliban's policies on women's education have severely limited access for girls, particularly after the regime’s controversial reversal on opening high schools in 2022, along with a subsequent closure of universities for female students at the end of that year. International observers, including Islamic scholars and Western diplomats, have repeatedly criticized these restrictions while indicating that formal recognition of the Taliban is contingent upon changes in policy towards women.

As internal disagreements reportedly exist within the Taliban regarding education policies, the call from Stanekzai adds to growing pressures on the leaders to reconsider their stance and potentially reform their approach to women’s rights in Afghanistan.

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