Afghans protest against Taliban’s uni ban on women, hold white papers up like Chinese protesters

In solidarity for women's rights.

Yen Zhi Yi | December 23, 2022, 01:17 PM

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Protests have broken out at various locations in Afghanistan in response to the Taliban’s indefinite ban on women’s university education which came into effect on Dec. 21.

Rare protests

Men and women were seen holding white papers and chanting outside a university located in the eastern city of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on the day the ban was announced by the Ministry of Higher Education, according to The Guardian.

A4 white papers were previously used by Chinese protesters as a symbol of defiance against China's censorship laws.

According to Reuters, protests are a rare occurrence in Afghanistan ever since the Taliban’s takeover, as security agencies tend to disperse protesters forcefully.

The BBC reported that five women have already been arrested by the police for staging protests in Kabul.

Video footage showed around two dozen Afghan women marching through the streets of Kabul on Dec. 22 and chanting slogans such as "education for all".

According to the BBC, the women had initially planned to protest outside Kabul University, but switched locations after a large number of security personnel were reportedly deployed there.

Some protesters told the BBC that they were beaten or taken into custody by female Taliban officers. Amu Television, a local media outlet, had also released footage on their Twitter account on the protests supposedly turning violent.

Civil obedience by men

Some Afghan men also stood in support of women’s rights through acts of civil disobedience.

Bloomberg reported that several male teachers in Afghanistan resigned in support of female students, while male students reportedly walked out of their classrooms after refusing to sit for their exams.

Obaidullah Wardak, who was a professor at Kabul University, announced via Twitter that he was resigning. He said in his Twitter thread that he did not wish to continue working in a place where there is “an organised discrimination against innocent and talented girls of this country by those in power”.

Minister defended university ban

Minister for Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem reportedly told local broadcasting channel Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) that the decision was prompted by various issues, such as female students not donning "appropriate attire", as well as interactions between students of different genders, according to Reuters.

He believed that some students have violated the principles of Islam, Associated Press (AP) reported.

He was quoted saying, “We told girls to have proper hijab but they didn’t and they wore dresses like they are going to a wedding ceremony."

International condemnation

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the Taliban decision to ban women from university education, telling reporters that the Taliban had tried to “sentence Afghan women and girls to a dark future without opportunity”, AP reported.

In a statement by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on behalf of the Group of Seven (G7) ministers, it is stated that gender persecution “may amount to a crime against humanity”, according to a later report by Reuters.

According to AFP, Nadeem had responded to the international community’s condemnation, saying that they should "not interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs".

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Top images via Twitter/@euamiri, @BBCYaldaHakim, & @ramitanavai