Taliban’s senior leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai came out in support of women’s education rights and said that it is the responsibility of the government to provide a safe education to them in the country.
Addressing a gathering to mark the death anniversary of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, a former Islamic Emirate leader, Stanikzai said that women should be provided with their rights based on Afghan culture and Islamic values, Tolo News reported. “Women can’t even ask for their inheritance. They are deprived of the right to education. Where will women learn Shariah’s lessons? Women make up half of Afghanistan’s population,” he said.
Stanikzai was critical of the small budget for development in economic sectors and also said that due to the economic challenges, people were forced to leave the country.
“We don’t have a chair in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), we don’t have a chair in the United Nations and we don’t have a political office in Europe,” he said.
Speaking at the same gathering, another Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Yaqub criticized the economic sanctions on Afghanistan, reported Tolo News.
“They imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan and made a plot against us in Afghanistan,” he said.
The Taliban’s decision to ban female students above grade six from going to school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels.
Further, the Taliban regime which took over Kabul in August last year has curtailed women’s rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions.