Muttaqi: We Have Not Declared Women’s Education Haram, It’s Just Suspended Until Further Notice

Image Source: sidhant/X

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, said during a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday (October 12) regarding the ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan: “We have never declared women’s education haram; it has only been postponed until further notice.”

The press conference was held at the request of India’s Ministry of External Affairs following widespread outrage over the exclusion of female journalists from the Taliban’s previous press conference. Muttaqi added, “We have 10 million students in schools and institutes, including 2.8 million women and girls. There are restrictions, but we have never declared women’s education haram; it has only been delayed until further notice.”

These remarks come as four years have passed since secondary and high schools for girls were closed in Afghanistan, with the Taliban taking no steps toward reopening them.

Since the group’s return to power, Afghanistan has become the only country in the world where secondary and higher education for girls is banned. The United Nations and UNESCO have described this policy as a clear example of “gender apartheid.”

Muttaqi’s remarks echo the Taliban’s repeated promise of “until further notice”; a phrase that over the past four years has deprived millions of Afghan girls of education, hope, and a future.

During this period, the Taliban have not only refused to reopen schools but have also shut down hundreds of educational institutions and forced dozens of female teachers to remain at home.