Armed guards and barbed wire surround Kabul’s universities to keep out women

The Independent and other media stories say that, the Taliban in Afghanistan have barbed-wire fenced off universities in Kabul as armed guards stationed outside to keep the women out. Women’s classes have been suspended, says an university official, who also noted that some women were permitted access to the campus for administrative and paperwork needs.

‘As the Taliban’s prohibition on women attending higher education institutions took effect, ladies outside the university campus in Kabul sobbed and comforted one another,’ reported AP.

‘To stop Afghan women from enrolling in universities, the Taliban have installed barbed wire and stationed armed guards. They protest with strong Afghan men, demanding that women and girls be allowed their basic rights, despite being intimidated,’ according to a tweet from BBC anchor and correspondent Yalda Hakim. She also shared a video of demonstrators brandishing signs and shouting anti-ban slogans.

In protest against the Taliban’s strict policy to bar women from attending universities, men and women alike left their seats in the classrooms across the nation, and a number of teachers resigned.

The former policy assistant to the ministers for refugees and afghan resettlement, Shabnam Nasimi, tweeted a picture of a woman wearing a burqa and standing in front of a barbed wire fence with the caption, ‘If this sight doesn’t break you, I don’t know what will.’ This young woman stopped in front of Kabul University today hoping they might still admit her even though the Taliban forbade women from attending university. The main gate was wired by the Taliban, who only permitted male students to enter.

On December 20, when institutions were directed in a letter to suspend female students’ entrance immediately until further notice, in accordance with a cabinet resolution, the Taliban forbade all female students from attending universities in Afghanistan.

Last August, when western soldiers hastily ended their decades-long presence in the nation, the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

Since taking control last year, the Taliban have widely imposed their interpretation of Islamic law, known as Sharia, despite initially pledging a moderate government that would respect the rights of women and minorities.