Afghan female university students are stopped by Taliban security personnel at a university in Kabul, on Dec. 21. - AFP
JAKARTA, Dec 24 (Jakarta Pos/ANN): Indonesia expresses concern and disappointment with the decision of the Taliban that suspended the access to university education for women in Afghanistan.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its Twitter account @Kemlu_RI that Indonesia is “deeply concerned and disappointed” over the latest Taliban decision, saying that education is a fundamental right for all men and women.
The ministry went on to say that Indonesia continued to urge the Taliban to provide undisrupted access to education for women.
“Indonesia strongly believes that women’s participation in all aspects of society is crucial to the attainment of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan,” the ministry tweeted on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday, Afghanistan Minister for Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem issued a letter to all government and private universities in Afghanistan to suspend education for women until further notice.
The order was confirmed by the ministry’s spokesman Ziaullah Hashimi who tweeted the letter, AFP reported.
The United States condemned the decision “in the strongest terms.”
"The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan. This decision will come with consequences for the Taliban," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday.
Muslim majority countries also condemned the Taliban’s decision.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “surprise and regret” over the latest decision in Afghanistan and called for a reversal of the latest move.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement they expressed “deep concern and disappointment” with the decision in Afghanistan.
“As a Muslim country in which women enjoy all their rights, especially education, the State of Qatar calls on the Afghan caretaker government to review its decision in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion concerning women’s rights.” the Qatari ministry said in a statement tweeted on Wednesday.
Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan following the US withdrawal last year, the Taliban had increasingly put restrictions on women, including barring girls from secondary school education in Afghanistan.
Indonesia and Qatar have been trying to rally support for Afghan women’s right to education, recently convening the International Conference on Afghan Women’s Education on Dec. 8.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Assistant Foreign Minister of Qatar Lolwah Al-Khater also held talks with Taliban acting Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Doha in March this year to urge the Taliban to allow Afghan girls back in school. - Jakarta Post/ANN
