Afghanistan: Taliban ban books written by women in universities

Milan, 19 September (LaPresse) – The Taliban government has removed books written by women from the university education system in Afghanistan. The BBC reports that the measure is part of a new decree that includes a ban on teaching 18 subjects deemed to be “in conflict with Sharia principles”. The BBC explains that around 140 books written by women – including titles such as “Safety in the Chemical Laboratory” – are among the 680 books labelled as “worrying” because of their “anti-Sharia and anti-Taliban policies”. Furthermore, of the 18 subjects targeted, six specifically concern women, as they are disciplines such as “Gender and Development”, “The Role of Women in Communication” and “Sociology of Women”. The BBC reports that the measure was confirmed to it by a member of the commission responsible for examining the books: “All books written by women cannot be taught,” he said.