During a two-day visit to universities in Herat province, the Taliban minister of higher education refused to meet any women, students tell Zan Times.
“Mawlawi Nadeem has met all the men of public and private universities in Herat, but despite the requests of female students, refused to meet even one woman,” a female student at Herat University says. She says that the female students wanted to demand that the minister remove the restrictions placed on women. The minister, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, visited Herat University on Saturday December 4.
A male student who attended a public meeting at the university said that the Taliban minister mostly spoke about the importance of respecting religious scholars and the Taliban. Meanwhile, a professor at Herat University labelled the visit as “disappointing,” saying, “The Taliban minister only ranted about defending Taliban virtues.” The professor, who asked not to be identified, confirmed that Nadeem didn’t meet any female students and professors. As well, he said the Taliban politician also didn’t want to hear any criticism from male faculty or students.
The Taliban minister of higher education is infamous for making controversial remarks and bluntly defending Taliban policies. Just before his trip to Herat, he claimed that girls going to school is against Afghan culture and Islam. He added that girls’ education is a source of corruption and indecency in society. The comments went viral and sparked widespread reaction on social media.
The appointment of Nadeem to the role of minister of higher education is seen by experts as a consolidation of leadership roles by the anti-education inner circle of the Taliban, headed by the Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada. Before taking the higher education position, Nadeem was the Taliban governor of Kabul, when he asserted that opposing the Taliban government is forbidden according to sharia and those who oppose the Taliban should be beheaded.
