It is wrong to differentiate between men and women in education: Hekmatyar

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hizb-e-Islami, has said that is wrong to differentiate between men and women in the area of education.

In a virtual conference with his party members living abroad, Hekmatyar stated that Afghans revived a forgotten duty, which is Jihad, but they now need to progress in all areas of life by acquiring knowledge.

“Islam has not made a distinction between religious and worldly sciences. All sciences are sacred and the acquiring of all sciences is obligatory for Muslims, both for men and women,” Hekmatyar said. “Anyone who differentiates between them is wrong. This is his personal opinion, we cannot find evidence for it in religion, nor can it be rationally justified.”

According to him, Afghan citizens should be allowed participate in making decisions about major national issues, such as the type of political system, territorial integrity, domestic and foreign policy.

“It is the inalienable right of the Afghan people to choose their political system. God and religion have given them this right… no one can take this right away from them. Islam has not given anyone the right to take away the rights that God has given to people,” Hekmatyar said.

He claimed that no reforms have been made in the country’s economic system, as bank interest and taxes still exist.  Hekmatyar added that the government can collect zakat, but not tax.