Naseebullah Khan
Soon after the takeover of the Taliban 2.0, Afghanistan is heading towards destruction. Things were not perfect before the Taliban 2.0 too, but those were not as bitter as today are. There is no socioeconomic indicator that should be pride of right now. Amid crises that deserved sanity from the Taliban to tackle the calamities, rather the regime is adding more crises in the shape of banning women’s education in the country. Wasting time in the wrong directions doesn’t make sense.
The Taliban have banned women’s education on one or another pretext. They have claimed that women do not have proper dress or hijab in the institutions and that teaching women by male teachers is immoral that spreads nudity.
These claims do not make sense. For instance, if one accepts this assertion that women in colleges and universities do not wear proper dress then the question arises as to why the Taliban have banned girls’ education at the primary level. If one accepts the pretension of not wearing hijab_ it is still ok. Formulate a hijab policy and then allow women to go to their colleges and universities. Second, the point the Taliban raise is that teaching women by male teachers or professors is against tradition or creates an unethical society. Ok. Let’s accept this claim too. Then what option is left? The option is to provide female teachers for girls’ education. You are the government, it is your responsibility.
Devise the Hijab law. Ok. Make separate classes and separate women’s academia only for women’s education. It is still acceptable. But, can Afghanistan afford it administrative and economically where the Taliban have failed in both these spheres?
The Taliban’s claim of following the Pashtun traditions is still ok. The question is can any Talib leader or even any Pashtun bear if his pregnant wife or sister be medically dealt with by a male doctor? Of course not. Then, if the Taliban bans girls’ education, how would it be possible to generate women doctors and nurses in the future?
One more reality. There is no country in the Muslim world where women’s education is banned. The birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia allows it. All Arab world are using ample budget for women’s education. Even in Pakistan, we have seen that many religious scholars and leaders have been providing their girls with education. Even, they have been participating in national politics. For instance, the daughter of famous religious leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad was a member of the national assembly. She had also served as a member of the Islamic ideology council.
From the Islamic point of view, this religion has been a huge supporter of acquiring knowledge and learning. This religion talks of humanity as a whole and that it has a defined law of women’s rights and privileges. Allah Almighty in the Holy Quran says that “Read. Read in the name of thy Lord who created; [He] created the human being from a blood clot. Read in the name of thy Lord who taught by the pen: [He] taught the human being what he did not know.” (96: 1-5) In another verse, Allah Almighty says that “In chapter 39, l-zummer, Qur’an says, “Are those who have knowledge equal to those who do not have knowledge?” (Verse 9) These verses testify to the importance of learning and that they do not mention sex differences.
From the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), we have bounteous examples concerning education. In one Hadith the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says that “Acquisition of knowledge is binding on all Muslims.” Here, the whole Muslim means all regardless of age, sex, and caste. In the first battle between the believers and unbelievers in Mecca, known as the Jang-e-Badr, the Muslims won and caught 70 non-Muslims as prisoners of war. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) put the condition of teaching ten Muslim children how to read and write to releasing literate prisoners of war. Again, it must be noted that there was no sex preference as children meant both girls and boys. On another occasion the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “Allah Almighty makes the path to paradise easier for the one who walks on it for getting knowledge” (Al-Jami’ alsahih, 4: 2074, 2699). Here again, no sex, age, or caste differences are mentioned. Paradise is for the whole not for men only.
One of the important aspects of knowledge has been its contents. The Taliban favors Islamic education. It is ok. All Muslims acquire Islamic education. And, Islamic education is taught in schools, colleges, and universities too. One reality is that, modern education in science and technology is also important and that Islam does not stop Muslims from acquiring education in the fields of science and technology. For instance, one Hadith Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says that” Acquire knowledge for which if you to go to China.” It must be noted that at the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Arabia, specially Makkah and Madina were the hubs of Islamic education. And that there was no Islamic education in China.
We have ample examples where Muslim women contributed to education. For instance, the beloved life partner of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Hazrat Aisha RA narrated 2210 Ahadith and was an expert in Islamic law and jurisprudence.
Umm Habiba, Hazrat Hafsa, and Hazrat Maymuna all were Hadiths collectors. Muhammad Akram Nadvi in al_Muhadsath writes that there were 8000 women scholars of Hadiths. Rufaida al_Aslamia who was born in 620 is knowns as the first surgeon and nurse. Moreover, Al Shifa (the healer) had the skills to treat patients. In addition, Fatima al _Fihri established al_Qayrawan University in 859 in Morocco. Dhayfa Khaton established the al_Firdous school in Aleppo. Anat ul_Wahid who died in 987 in Baghdad was an expert of literature, Hadiths, and jurisprudence. Lubana of Cordoba in the 10th century was an expert in Arabic and science. Rabia Balkhi in the 9th century in Afghanistan wrote Persian poems. Even, Surya Begum the wife of Amir Amanullah Khan worked vehemently for women’s education in the 1920s.
Banning girls’ education by the Taliban is a political gimmick. It is a mindset. At a juncture, when the international community is not recognizing the regime, at a time when economic meltdown has taken, when all institutions have been devastated, and when poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, and health hazards are engulfing the Afghans_ the Taliban who should have been focused on pulling out the sinking boat from the whirlpool, they have been wasting their energies on digging a cave where there is darkness all around. The hopes have ruined of changed Taliban. Restructuring girls from acquiring education testifies that the policies of the Taliban are the same as they were two decades ago. It is a disastrous, pathetic, and unacceptable situation.
(-Naseebullah Achakzai is a freelance columnist. He has done M.phil political science and M,sc English Literature. He writes on international politics, issues of Pakistan with special focus on Balochistan. He has an expert of the Afghan affairs.)