By Rukhshana Media
The Taliban are not against the education of girls, but men and women sitting around one table is against “our religious principles,” said a senior Taliban official on Tuesday.
“Islamic Emirate is not against the education of girls, however, men and women sitting around the same table is against our religious principles and our people’s beliefs,” said the Taliban acting minister for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Sheikh Mohammad Khalid in a meeting with local Taliban officials in the northern province of Balkh, according to the Facebook page of the state news agency, Bakhtar.
Since the Taliban returned to power in mid-August, the group has “temporarily” banned girls from attending secondary schools and almost all women from working outside. The group claimed to be working on a framework to allow women to return to school without providing a timeline.
On September 12, the Taliban’s acting minister for higher education said the group will end co-education in universities.
“If the world and western countries have put us under political and economic pressure, for this reason, we will never give up our religious principles,” Sheikh Mohammad Khalid added.
In an interview with the state news agency, the Taliban’s minister of education, Mawlavi Noorullah Moneer said that women will be allowed to attend schools, but they have to abide by Islamic dress code.
It is not clear what the group means by Islamic dress code.
