A sharp response from the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education to former President Hamid Karzai’s appeal for girls to be allowed to participate in Afghanistan’s national university entrance examination has once again placed the issue of girls’ education at the center of the country’s political debate.
Ziaullah Hashimi, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, wrote on X that only those with a “positive and practical record” should comment on higher education and Afghanistan’s future. Referring to Karzai, Hashimi claimed the former president had “no right” to comment on Afghanistan’s affairs and had not left behind a positive legacy for the country.
The remarks came after Karzai expressed regret over the continued exclusion of girls from this year’s university entrance exam, known as the Kankor, and once again urged the Taliban to reopen schools and universities to female students. Over the past several years, Karzai has repeatedly called on the Taliban to lift restrictions on girls’ education, but this marks one of the strongest public responses from the Taliban’s higher education authorities.
Former chief government negotiator Masoom Stanekzai also criticized the ministry’s remarks, describing the position as inconsistent with Islamic principles. He argued that advocating for girls’ education is the right of every Afghan citizen and that no one should be criticized for defending access to education.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have prohibited girls from attending secondary school beyond the sixth grade and suspended university education for women. The restrictions have been widely condemned by the United Nations, international human rights organizations and numerous governments, while the Taliban continue to describe the policy as an internal matter.
