LETTERS: On Dec 22, the Taliban banned women from entering universities in Afghanistan. This decision, which is inexplicable and indefensible, provoked global condemnation.
World leaders, both Muslim and non-Muslim, described the ban as "a disaster", "cruel", "inhuman" and "unIslamic".
Afghan society, especially the youth, is in despair over their future.
Along with the Taliban's previous decision to keep girls out of secondary schools, the university ban has effectively denied women access to secondary and higher education.
The Taliban set a precedent that the world has not witnessed before. But it has also caused a rift in the group, as not all of its members agree with the ban.
The ban pulls the country back, prevents progress and damages its cultural foundation. It harms the Taliban as well, as it prevents the regime from achieving national and international legitimacy.
The higher education minister in the Taliban government tried to justify the ban by unconvincingly claiming that female students were ignoring the hijab, which is not true.
Furthermore, he said that science courses such as "engineering, agriculture and some other courses" were not suitable for women because they "are not compatible with the dignity and honour of female students, as well as Afghan culture".
The reasoning defies logic and goes against the very principles of Islam. Egypt's Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayeb, condemned the ban, saying it contradicts Islamic syariah. Knowingly or unknowingly, the Taliban regime destroys its own roots with hasty and disastrous decisions and brings infamy and hatred upon itself.
Banning girls' education has no religious or rational basis. It deprives half the population of natural and inalienable rights. This illogical decision threatens the very survival of the Taliban regime. A civil uprising against the decision to ban female education is already taking shape.
University lecturers, both men and women, are resigning one after another. Male and female students demonstrate in the streets and chant "freedom, equality, security and education" and "we were expelled from the university for the crime of reading and watching".
However, the women's demonstrations were crushed by the Taliban. Demonstrators were beaten, arrested and sent to prison.
Educated youths are leaving the country, and some students, both male and female, committed suicide due to despair and a dark future. If the Taliban do not reverse their decision, the fear is that more students may commit suicide.
The Taliban's decrees are extremely harmful and some opportunists may use them to promote Islamophobia. However, let it be clear that the Taliban's moves have nothing to do with Islam and Muslims; in fact, they adversely affect the interests of Muslims in Afghanistan.
Islam promotes education. The first verse of the Quran begins with the words "read" and "pen" (Quran: 96:1-5), which are the means of acquiring knowledge. The importance of acquiring knowledge is apparent from the Quranic verse, which reads: "Are the people of knowledge equal to those who do not have knowledge?" (Quran: 39:9).
Islam considers "seeking knowledge [as] a duty of every Muslim" and it has to be sought "from the cradle to the grave" or "even if it is as far as China".
Practical steps should be taken to persuade the Taliban to reverse the harsh and gender-discriminating decisions.
PROFESSOR DR MOHAMMAD NAQIB EISHAN JAN
Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times