The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, on Saturday criticized the restrictions on girls and women's education in Afghanistan, saying that it is “intolerable.”

After visiting a carpet weaving center in Herat province, Egeland lamented that girls who were deprived of education beyond primary school are now forced to weave carpets.

“It is an intolerable denial of fundamental human rights,” he said on X.

Egeland also expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, saying that the world has ignored the crisis.

He noted that 22 million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian assistance and with that, Pakistan has sent back 800,000 refugees and Iran plans to deport two million.

Egeland also said that donors are surprisingly slow to fund projects supporting Afghan female entrepreneurs.

Restrictions on female education in Afghanistan have been repeatedly criticized by foreign governments and even some in the Islamic Emirate.

Political deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, recently said that the restrictions are not according to Sharia, as it is claimed.

"I ask the leaders of the Emirate to open the door of knowledge," Stanikzai said at a ceremony in Khost province. “There is no excuse for this, nor should there be one. In the time of the Prophet (pbuh), the door of knowledge was open to men and women. Half of the knowledge is narrated from Bibi Ayesha (RA). Similarly, there were prophet’s companions who taught other companions. There were blessed women who were teachers of great mujtahids. They acquired knowledge from them. If women were in trouble or men were in trouble, they would ask Bibi Ayesha. That's because she was a scholar."

"Today we are doing injustice to 20 million of the 40 million people. Will we not rise on the Day of Judgment paralyzed and having denied all rights? The right of inheritance is not given to girls. The right to choose a husband is not given. We get girls married in Baad practice. We don't allow education. We don't allow them to go to the mosque. The doors of the universities and schools are closed. We don't even let them go to madrassa. Are we acting in accordance with the Sharia?
“Another issue is that the whole world has a problem with us on this issue. They criticize us about it. But the path we have taken is a matter of our own liking, not the Sharia.”

Baad is a method of settlement and compensation whereby a female from a criminal's family is given to the victim's family as a servant or a bride.

The Ministry of Higher Education has purchased 270 million afghanis (AFN) worth of equipment for the faculties of education and science at all state universities and institutions of higher education in the country.

According to officials the equipment includes hardware and chemicals for science labs.

Officials say the equipment will be distributed to universities as soon as possible.

This comes after the Ministry of Higher Education recently held a seven-day meeting in Kabul to determine needs for laboratories at universities.

The national security adviser of Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, says that in the future administration of the United States, American forces will not return to Afghanistan.

Michael Waltz said that America does not want to go back to Kandahar and fight, but it cannot wait for another attack on the United States.

The Washington Post wrote in a report that Afghanistan is very important to Michael Waltz.

The Islamic Emirate meanwhile has repeatedly emphasized that with the withdrawal of America and NATO from Afghanistan, the country has become completely safe and does not perceive any threat from it to the region and the world.

In an article this week, the Washington Post looked at Waltz’s past comments and opinions on Afghanistan.

According to the Post, Trump's national security advisor believes the new American government will pay a lot of attention to Afghanistan and intensify the fight against terrorist threats.

Waltz said "the Trump administration will take a close look at the intelligence community and counter-terrorism efforts, and that America's eyes and ears are open so that we are not surprised by that part of the world again."

He added: “I do not interpret this to mean going back to Kandahar and fighting there again. I interpret this position to mean that we cannot wait for Kansas City to be attacked."

The Washington Post wrote that this American veteran has however warned that threats from Afghanistan to America's national security are emerging and that the United States will one day be forced to send troops there.

However, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly considered such statements to be far from reality and has said that no individual or group in the country is allowed to engage in terrorist activities.

Waltz reportedly opposed the complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan but has recently refused to specify how the US policies towards Afghanistan will change in the Trump era, although he did emphasize that the US must improve its ability to collect information from inside Afghanistan.