ISLAMABAD/KABUL: A prominent Afghan activist for female education has been arrested by the Taliban, as girls and women remain barred from classrooms in the war-torn country.
Matiullah Wesa, who has travelled to remote parts of the country to improve access to education for children, has been recieving threats in the past. His arrest comes amid the detention of several activists who have been campaigning for women’s education.
The Taliban have not commented on why Matiullah was taken into custody.
Restrictions on Afghan women, girls
In February, Professor Ismail Mashal, an outspoken critic of the restriction on education for women and girls, was arrested in Kabul while handing out free books. He was freed on March 5 but has not spoken out since then.
Matiullah has campaigned for girls right to study since the Taliban barred female education in 2021.
On Monday, a day before his arrest, his last tweet was a photo of women volunteers for Pen Path “asking for the Islamic rights to education for their daughters”.
Afghan girls have been struggling to get education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the withdrawal of United States-led forces.
Only male teachers and boys were allowed into secondary schools and colleges when reopened in September 2021.
There was a brief spell of hope following an announcement in March 2022 that girls and women would be allowed to attend secondary schools, colleges and universities. But schoolgirls have turned away in tears after what appeared to be a sudden U-turn by the Taliban leadership.
In December 2022, female students were barred from universities.
The Taliban government says schools and universities are temporarily closed to girls and women until a “suitable environment” can be created.
But women have been facing other restrictions as well. The Taliban administration has decreed that women should be dressed in a way that only reveals their eyes and must be accompanied by a male relative if they travel more than 72km.
Last November, women were restricted from parks, swimming pools, and gyms. The enforcement of the rules is different in different places, but the rules create an environment of fear and horror.
The restrictions have continued despite global condemnation and protests.
Operation of foreign aid groups has also been hindered after the Taliban said women could not work in domestic and international NGOs except in the health sector, forcing NGOs and aid groups to suspend services at a time when the country is facing a severe economic and humanitarian crisis.
