'Afghanistan needs educated women too': Top cricketers demand reversal of Taliban's ban on women education

Top Afghan cricket players have condemned the Taliban’s decision to ban women from pursuing education in health. The men’s cricket team is a celebrated group of sportsmen in Afghanistan. The country erupted in joy as the team made historic wins against England and Australia this year.

The team’s captain Rashid Khan took to social media to slam the Taliban administration for barring access to education for women.

“It is essential for our sisters and mothers to have access to care provided by medical professionals who truly understand their needs,” he said. “Providing education to all is not just a societal responsibility but a moral obligation deeply rooted in our faith and values,” he said.

All-rounder cricketer Mohammad Nabi echoed Khan’s view and said, “This decision does not only harm the future of these girls, but it also harms the whole country and nation. Afghanistan also needs educated women besides educated men. Please reverse this decision and let our girls get an education.”

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The women’s cricket team of Afghanistan fled the country following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.

Taliban bans health institutes for women

As if things were not difficult enough for women, the Taliban administration, earlier this week, banned women from pursuing nursing and midwifery courses.

Officials from the health department met directors of educational institutes in Kabul to appraise them on the recent decree, a source from the ministry told AFP.

He said that although an official letter has not been published yet, the management of various health institutes was ordered not to admit women and girls in their facilities anymore.

After they were barred from education beyond secondary school as part of restrictions labelled “gender apartheid” by the United Nations, women flocked to these health institutions, one of the only avenues left open for them.

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Afghanistan has around 10 public and more than 150 private health institutes offering two-year diplomas in 18 subjects, ranging from midwifery to anaesthesia, pharmacy and dentistry, with a total of 35,000 women students, health ministry sources said.

With inputs from agencies