The International Criminal Court has unsealed arrest warrants for Habibullah Agha, the Taliban's Minister of Education, and Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Minister of Higher Education, on charges of persecution of women and girls, which constitutes a crime against humanity. These two officials have played a central role in depriving Afghan women and girls of their right to education.
Habibullah Agha, a native of Kandahar's Arghandab district, is a long-standing Taliban figure with a background in the group's judiciary and religious schools. A graduate of Pakistan's Darul Uloom Haqqania in 1978, he served as the head of the criminal division of Kandahar's primary court during the Taliban's first regime and continued to work within the group's judicial structure thereafter. After the Taliban's return to power, he was first appointed head of the Kandahar Ulama Council and then became Minister of Education in September 2022.
Under Habibullah Agha's tenure, the Taliban leader's decree to keep girls' schools closed beyond the sixth grade was strictly enforced. Furthermore, private educational centers were also closed to girls, and their training in fields like nursing was halted. These policies have forced girls to turn to secret home-based schooling.
Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Minister of Higher Education, is also from Kandahar and is considered a hardliner close to the Taliban leader. He has a long history in the Taliban's military and intelligence sectors, having previously served as governor of Kabul and Nangarhar and as Nangarhar's police chief. He was appointed to his current post in October 2022.
Approximately two months after Nadeem's appointment, on December 20, 2022, the Ministry of Higher Education announced that women were banned from public and private universities "until further notice." This decision extended the ban on girls' education to the university level. Nadeem defended the decision, citing issues like women's dress code and the incompatibility of fields like agriculture and engineering with "Afghan culture."
Nadeem had promised that universities would reopen once the issues were resolved. However, nearly two years later, in September 2024, he stated that just as women's education is "suspended," any questions about it are also "suspended until further notice." The European Union had previously sanctioned both ministers for their role in violating women's right to education.
Source: Afghanistan International
🌐
