Previously, Stanikzai has voiced support for women’s education but refrained from directly challenging the leadership’s stance. His latest statement, however, publicly questions the legitimacy of the existing policy.

In a rare public appeal, a senior Taliban official has called for the reversal of the group’s controversial ban on education for Afghan women and girls, describing the policy as unjust, un-Islamic, and lacking any religious justification.

Sher Abbas Stanikzai, a senior political deputy at Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, made the remarks on Saturday during a religious school ceremony in Khost, a southeastern province of Afghanistan. Addressing the audience, Stanikzai stated that there was no valid reason to continue restricting education for women and girls, emphasising that the ongoing ban was not rooted in Islamic law.

“We are committing an injustice against 20 million people out of a population of 40 million, depriving them of all their rights,” Stanikzai said in a video posted on social media. “This is not in Islamic law, but our personal choice or nature.”

The Taliban, which seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, implemented a ban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade shortly after taking power. Over subsequent months, the restrictions were expanded to prevent women from accessing higher education, including universities such as Kabul University.

Stanikzai’s remarks represent a significant call for policy change, as they mark his first direct appeal to the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. Previously, Stanikzai has voiced support for women’s education but refrained from directly challenging the leadership’s stance. His latest statement, however, publicly questions the legitimacy of the existing policy.

“The leadership should again open the doors of education for girls. We have no excuse to deny them their right,” he added, underscoring the growing internal debate within the Taliban regarding the controversial ban.

Bolstering Taliban’s Credibility

Despite Stanikzai’s appeal, critics remain sceptical about the likelihood of any real change. Zubaida Akbar, an activist with the women’s rights group Femena, believes the remarks might be a strategic effort to improve the Taliban’s international reputation.

“This statement seems like a move to rebrand themselves as progressive,” Akbar said in an interview. “It’s about bolstering credibility for the Taliban on the global stage, but it doesn’t change the reality on the ground.”

International pressure continues to mount on the Taliban to restore basic rights for women and girls in Afghanistan. The United Nations has consistently condemned the ban on female education, while human rights groups highlight the broader repression faced by Afghan women, including severe restrictions on their mobility and employment opportunities.

Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent advocate for girls’ education, has called on Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban’s policies. Speaking at a conference in Islamabad earlier this month, Yousafzai urged the international community to take a firmer stance against the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls, describing it as a form of “gender apartheid.”

Despite increasing condemnation from international bodies and activists, the Taliban leadership has shown little willingness to compromise. The regime continues to defend its policies, asserting that they align with their interpretation of Islamic law. However, the restrictions have further isolated Afghanistan on the global stage, with no country yet recognising the Taliban government.

As the debate over women’s rights in Afghanistan intensifies, Stanikzai’s remarks have ignited hope among some advocates who believe that internal dissent could eventually lead to policy shifts. However, for millions of Afghan girls and women deprived of education and opportunities, tangible change remains elusive.

Child Labour, Early Marriage

According to the UN education agency, UNESCO, at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education since 2021. This represents an increase of 300,000 since the previous count carried out by UNESCO in April 2023 – with more girls reaching the age limit of 12 every year. 

“If we add the girls who were already out of school before the bans were introduced, there are now almost 2.5 million girls in the country deprived of their right to education, representing 80 per cent of Afghan school-age girls,” UNESCO says, adding that “in just three years, the de facto authorities have almost wiped out two decades of steady progress for education in Afghanistan, and the future of an entire generation is now in jeopardy.”

Although girls’ education is still permitted under the age of 12, the number of pupils enrolled in primary education has also fallen drastically since 2021. According to UNESCO data, Afghanistan had only 5.7 million girls and boys in primary school in 2022, compared with 6.8 million in 2019. 

According to UNESCO, “This drop in primary school enrolment is the result of the de facto authorities’ decision to prohibit female teachers from teaching boys, exacerbating the teacher shortage. It can also be explained by parents’ lack of incentive to send their children to school, in an increasingly difficult socio-economic context.” UNESCO also expressed its alarm by the harmful consequences of this increasingly massive drop-out rate, which could lead to a rise in child labour and early marriage.