Women Not Permitted To Take Private University Entrance Exams, Taliban Orders

Private universities can not allow female students to take their entrance exams next month on orders of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education, which is run by the Islamist Taliban government. The announcement on Saturday about the entrance exams, which will take place at the end of February, comes a month after the same ministry told universities to not allow female students to enter the universities “until further notice.” Girls’ high schools also have been closed by the Taliban government. Also last month, the Taliban ordered all non-governmental organizations and international organizations working in Afghanistan to stop employing women due to their noncompliance with laws requiring the wearing of the hijab.

The Taliban have been barring women from entering public spaces including parks, gyms, and entertainment venues, requiring them to wear burqas and face coverings and requiring a male escort in public. The Taliban took over Afghanistan and announced the formation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at the end of August 2021, when the last US and other foreign troops left the country.