Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Wednesday urged the Taliban-led Afghan administration to backtrack a decision to ban girls from university education.
On Tuesday, the Taliban-run Ministry of Higher Education issued a decision to immediately ban girls from university education until further notice.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are among several countries to condemn the Taliban after it announced that women would be suspended from attending universities in Afghanistanhttps://t.co/kU3tdcLE0P
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) December 21, 2022
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed "surprise and regret at the decision of the Afghan caretaker government to deny Afghan girls the right to university education."
The ministry went on to call on the Taliban to "reverse" the ban.
For its part, the Qatari Foreign Ministry expressed "deep concern and disappointment” over the ban.
So far three Muslim countries - Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia - has criticised Taliban for suspending women's higher education in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/JhBqvEGCrb
— Waquar Hasan (@WaqarHasan1231) December 22, 2022
A statement issued by the ministry urged the Taliban administration "to review its decision in line with the teachings of the Islamic religion concerning women's rights."
The Taliban ban was met with a wide condemnation across the world, especially from the UN, the US, Türkiye and other countries.
Officials from Saudi Arabia and Qatar criticized the Taliban terrorist group after the latter's announcement of a ban of girls and women from universities depsite an initial commitment of the opposite. #GlobalNews https://t.co/dP0dOTCgLZ
— HNGN (@HNGNcom) December 22, 2022
