Afghanistan bans female authors from university curricula

At slightest 679 titles blacklisted, including texts connected quality rights, women’s rights and Western governmental thought.

Afghanistan‘s Taliban-run authorities plans to region books written by women from assemblage curricula.

A subordinate of the committee reviewing textbooks confirmed the prohibition to BBC Afghan connected Friday. The blacklisting is portion of an acquisition decree that besides prohibits acquisition courses “deemed successful struggle with Islamic Sharia”.

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The committee subordinate told BBC Afghanistan that “all books authored by women are not allowed to beryllium taught.”

At slightest 679 titles were banned owed to their “anti-Sharia and Taliban policies”, helium added.

The books affected screen each tract of study, including texts connected law law, Islamic governmental movements and the governmental system, arsenic good arsenic quality rights, women’s studies and Western governmental thought.

A last database of banned books volition beryllium issued to universities astatine a aboriginal date.

A directive, which was seen by BBC Afghan, was signed by the Taliban’s lawman higher acquisition minister, Ziaur Rahman Aryoubi, and the 50-page database of banned books was sent to Afghan universities astatine the extremity of past month.

Aryoubi said successful a missive to the universities that the decisions had been taken by a sheet of “religious scholars and experts” and that the banned books should beryllium replaced with people materials that “do not struggle with Islam”.

The decree is the latest successful a bid of restrictions the Taliban has imposed since returning to powerfulness 4 years ago.

The Taliban has cracked down connected galore aspects of education, from firing hundreds of professors connected the grounds that they “opposed” the group’s ideology to expanding mandatory spiritual coursework crossed each faculties.

Women person been peculiarly affected. They are nary longer allowed to be schoolhouse past the sixth people (age 12).

Universities person besides been ordered to halt teaching 18 subjects, six of which are specifically astir women, including sex and development. Another 201 courses were nether review.

‘Misogynistic mindset’

Zakia Adeli, the erstwhile lawman curate of justness earlier the Taliban’s instrumentality successful August 2021 and writer of Political Terminology and International Relations, 1 of the banned books, told BBC Afghan that she was unsurprised by the move.

“Considering what the Taliban person done implicit the past 4 years, it was not far-fetched to expect them to enforce changes connected the curriculum,” said Adeli.

“Given the Taliban’s misogynistic mindset and policies, it is lone earthy that erstwhile women themselves are not allowed to study, their views, ideas and writings are besides suppressed.”

Sources successful the superior Kabul told the Independent Persian outlet that the prohibition connected specified a ample fig of textbooks would cripple the country’s higher acquisition system, arsenic universities volition present person to dedicate important resources to uncovering and acquiring replacements.

Alongside the female-authored books, a further 300 written by Iranian authors oregon issued by Iranian publishers are being targeted.

Sources, including 1 connected the publication reappraisal committee, said this was to “prevent the infiltration of Iranian content” into the country’s curriculum.

In caller years, the narration betwixt the 2 neighbouring countries has been strained, peculiarly implicit h2o rights. This hostility has been further compounded by Iran’s ejection of much than 1.5 cardinal Afghans who had been surviving successful the country.