Suhakam: M’sia as UN, OIC member to leverage its position to urge for Afghanistan to reconsider ban on women in varsities

This picture taken on December 25, 2022 shows student Marwa protesting alone against the ban on women’s higher education, outside the Kabul University as members of Taliban stand guard in Kabul. – AFP photo

KUCHING (Dec 30): The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) supports the action of the government through the Ministry of Higher Education in urging the Afghanistan’s Taliban-run higher education ministry to revisit its decision on banning Afghan women from attending universities.

“To exclude women from acquiring education is a form of discrimination, a clear contravention of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), of which Afghanistan is a member to the Convention,” said Suhakam in a statement yesterday, following the announcement made by Afghanistan government on Dec 20.

“Such move also violates Article 9 of the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI) which guarantees equal access to education to everyone including women.

“CDHRI is adopted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries and is constructed based on the teaching of Islam,” pointed out the Commission.

As universally accepted, Suhakam asserted that education is vital for an individual’s development as well as for improving the situation of a country.

It said Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) outlines recommendations on appropriate measures to ensure equal enjoyment of the right to education.

“That includes no one being left out from obtaining quality education, as the success of a country would hinge on the level of education of its citizens,” it added.

Suhakam further called on the Malaysian government to leverage its position as a current member of the United Nation’s Human Rights Council and a fellow Member States of the OIC to strongly encourage the Afghanistan government to accede to the establishment of an inclusive government that respects the desire of the Afghan people and restores, respects, and upholds the basic rights of Afghan women and girls.

On Tuesday, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said Malaysia is hoping that Afghanistan will rethink its decision on banning women from universities.

Khaled said in a statement that such ban is detrimental to the educational development of Muslims.

The Malaysian minister added that he had, through Afghan’s Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Moheb Rahman Spinghar, delivered a letter to Afghan acting Minister of Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem, calling for a revisit of the decision.

from Borneo Post Online https://ift.tt/AHsIBGR
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