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US warns of ‘costs’ if IEA’s suspension of women from universities not reversed
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) of costs if it does not reverse its decision to suspend university education for women in the country.
Blinken said on Thursday that the IEA will not be able to improve relations with the rest of the world if it continued to deny Afghan women their fundamental rights.
“What they’ve done is to try to sentence Afghan women and girls to a dark future without opportunity,” Blinken said during an end-of-year news conference in Washington, DC.
“And the bottom line is that no country is going to be able to succeed – much less thrive – if it denies half its population the opportunity to contribute.
“And to be clear, we’re engaged with other countries on this right now – there are going to be costs if this is not reversed if this has not changed,” said Blinken, without specifying what the measures might include.
On Tuesday, IEA told universities across the country to suspend education for women until further notice.
In an interview with RTA on Thursday night, the minister of higher education Neda Mohammad Nadeem said there were a number of reasons behind the decision to ban women from attending university.
He said reforms imposed by the IEA on the higher education sector had not been implemented.
According to him, there were four key reasons for the decision. These were that female students were not observing the full hijab rule, that women living in dormitories were on their own and not accompanied by a male relative, that co-education of male and female students continued and that some faculties for women were not in keeping with Islamic laws.
IEA’s recent decision on female university students has been met with a global outcry. Not only have Western countries condemned the decision but Islamic nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Turkey, among others, have also called for the decision to be overturned.
Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, has called on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to base its assessments on accurate information and objective facts in response to the mission’s latest report.
Fitrat said the report described the detention of some individuals by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and other official institutions of the Islamic Emirate as “arbitrary.” However, he claimed that these detentions were carried out in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to prevent acts deemed contrary to Sharia and to reform individuals.
The deputy spokesperson added that governments in various countries also carry out such detentions.
He also questioned why UNAMA’s report had not mentioned the efforts and achievements of various Islamic Emirate institutions in providing assistance to the public, accommodating returning migrants, preventing security threats, making political progress, and implementing major economic projects with humanitarian dimensions.
Criticizing UNAMA’s approach, Fitrat said that instead of working to bring Afghanistan and the international community closer together and resolve misunderstandings, the mission was engaged in what he described as “propaganda against the system” and seeking to portray
Afghanistan negatively. He said this approach was inconsistent with the principle of neutrality that the mission is expected to uphold.
The European Union’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas Frellesen, has described restrictions on women and girls as a major obstacle to normalising relations between the EU and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), following a three-day visit to Kabul.
According to an EU statement issued Thursday, Frellesen visited Kabul from October 12 to 14, holding discussions with senior IEA officials, diplomats, regional partners, representatives of the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and members of Afghan civil society.
During the visit, he expressed serious concern over restrictions on women and girls, saying they remained a significant barrier to closer relations between the EU and the IEA. In a meeting with Afghan women’s civil society representatives, he also heard about the impact of the restrictions and women’s resilience in the face of these challenges.
On security, Frellesen acknowledged that conditions in Afghanistan had generally improved but warned about the continued presence and cross-border activities of terrorist groups, including Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). He stressed that the IEA must ensure Afghan territory is not used to threaten other countries.
The EU envoy also recognised the IEA’s counter-narcotics efforts but raised concern over a renewed increase in poppy cultivation. He called for sustainable alternative livelihoods for farmers affected by the ban on opium cultivation, noting that the EU was supporting such initiatives.
Frellesen urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resume dialogue to address their security concerns, emphasising the need to de-escalate tensions and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. The EU also welcomed regional and international mediation efforts, the OIC’s role in promoting stability, and initiatives aimed at strengthening regional connectivity.
Reaffirming the EU’s support for the UN-led Doha Process, Frellesen said coordinated international engagement and constructive participation by the IEA were essential to Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community. He also stressed the importance of inclusive governance and compliance with international obligations.
The discussions further covered continued EU assistance in healthcare, education, resilience and livelihoods, including support for Afghans returning from Iran and Pakistan. Frellesen emphasised that returns should be safe, dignified and orderly, and called for greater attention to climate-related projects.
He also highlighted the importance of a resilient private sector and the preservation of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage.
The EU said its engagement with Afghanistan would remain principled and pragmatic, with a focus on addressing the needs of the Afghan people.
Qatar has called for stronger international solidarity, increased humanitarian and development assistance, and continued constructive dialogue on Afghanistan amid the return of large numbers of Afghans from neighboring countries.
The call was made by Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva during a high-level dialogue on Afghan refugees and returnees on October 14, held on the sidelines of the 77th session of the Executive Committee of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
During the meeting, Qatar’s mission highlighted the humanitarian, economic and development challenges facing Afghanistan and stressed the need for greater international coordination to address the needs of returning Afghans.
Qatar also reaffirmed its commitment to the Afghan Refugee Solutions Strategy and its Support Platform, noting that it chairs the platform’s first Core Group. The mission emphasized the importance of increasing international support for countries and communities that have hosted Afghan refugees for decades.
It further stressed that Afghan returnees need access to essential services, shelter, education and livelihood opportunities to support their sustainable reintegration.
The Qatari mission said the country continues to support various sectors in Afghanistan through its humanitarian and development institutions, particularly education, healthcare and livelihoods.
Qatar also highlighted its efforts to facilitate international dialogue on Afghanistan, including by hosting meetings of special envoys and working groups under UN auspices, aimed at improving coordination, supporting stability and facilitating Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international community.
The mission called for fairer burden-sharing, better coordination of humanitarian and development assistance, and stronger regional and international cooperation to find lasting solutions for Afghan refugees and internally displaced people.
It reaffirmed Qatar’s readiness to continue working with UNHCR and other partners to help ensure that Afghans can live with dignity, peace and stability.
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