RASC News Agency: The European Union’s Special Representative for Afghanistan has disclosed that Taliban officials failed to provide any justification for their decision to ban girls from attending medical institutes during recent discussions. Thomas Nicholson stated that he raised the issue of prohibiting girls’ education in medical institutes with several senior Taliban officials, including Mullah Abdul Kabir, the group’s Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs. However, none of them could offer a coherent explanation for this controversial decree.
Nicholson revealed that he visited Afghanistan from December 8 to December 12, where he engaged with Taliban officials, United Nations representatives, international organizations, civil society activists, women, business leaders, and journalists. In a statement issued on Monday, December 16, Nicholson highlighted that Taliban officials could not address the “catastrophic” consequences of banning girls from medical education on the health and well-being of Afghanistani women and children. “I met with Taliban officials, and they were unable to provide any justification for their decision to ban girls’ education,” Nicholson said, underscoring that the Taliban have no concrete plan to lift the prohibition on girls attending secondary schools, high schools, and universities.
He further noted that he discussed the Taliban’s contentious Amr bil Maruf (Promotion of Virtue) law, which has created significant challenges for Afghanistani society. According to Nicholson, many Afghanistani citizens explained how this law has disrupted the operations of businesses and organizations while severely restricting women’s freedom of movement, employment opportunities, access to essential services, and ability to support their families. Nicholson also pointed out that the difficulties imposed by this law on the EU’s humanitarian partners have significantly increased the cost of delivering aid to Afghanistan and have drastically limited the operational space for relief efforts.
