In one of the most forceful public criticisms of a policy that has contributed to the rulers’ worldwide isolation, the Taliban’s acting deputy foreign minister urged his senior leadership to establish schools for Afghan females.
Before US forces left Afghanistan in 2021, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai commanded a group of negotiators at the Taliban’s political office in Doha. He argued in a speech over the weekend that limiting women’s and girls’ access to education was against Islamic Sharia law.
According to local TV Tolo, he remarked, “We request the leaders of the Islamic Emirate to open the doors of education,” a reference to the Taliban’s administration’s moniker.
