The minister of higher education in the Taliban government has defended his decision to ban women from universities — a decree that had triggered a global backlash.

Discussing the matter for the first time in public, Nida Mohammad Nadim said the ban issued earlier this week was necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities and because he believes some subjects being taught violated the principles of Islam.

He said the ban was in place until further notice.

In an interview with Afghan television on Thursday, Mr Nadim pushed back against the widespread international condemnation, including from Muslim-majority countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

Mr Nadim said that foreigners should stop interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

United Nations special representative for Afghanistan Rosa Otunbayeva said the decision had undermined the Taliban’s relationship with the international community, while Afghan women interviewed by al-Jazeera accused the world of staying silent.

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Earlier on Thursday, the foreign ministers of the G7 group of states urged the Taliban to rescind the ban, warning that “gender persecution may amount to a crime against humanity.”

The ministers warned after a virtual meeting that: “Taliban policies designed to erase women from public life will have consequences for how our countries engage with the Taliban.”

Mr Nadim said universities would be closed to women for the time being, but that the ban could be reviewed at a later time.

A former provincial governor, police chief and military commander, Nida Nadim was appointed minister in October by the supreme Taliban leader and previously pledged to stamp out secular schooling.

Mr Nadim opposes female education, saying it is against Islamic and Afghan values.

In Afghanistan, there has been some domestic opposition to the university ban, including statements of condemnation by several hugely popular Afghan cricketers.

Despite initially promising a more moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities, the Taliban have widely implemented their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, since they seized power in August 2021.

They have banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most fields of employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms.
The ban has been met by widespread global condemnation.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that the ban was “neither Islamic nor humane.”

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Yemeni counterpart, Mr Cavusoglu called on the Taliban to reverse their decision.

“What harm is there in women’s education? What harm does it do to Afghanistan?” Mr Cavusoglu said. “Is there an Islamic explanation?

On the contrary, our religion, Islam, is not against education, on the contrary, it encourages education and science.”

Saudi Arabia, which until 2019 enforced sweeping restrictions on women’s travel, employment and other crucial aspects of their daily lives, including driving, also urged the Taliban to change course.

The Saudi foreign ministry expressed “astonishment and regret” at the decision.

Arrests as women march in the streets

In the capital of Kabul, about two dozen women marched in the streets on Thursday, chanting in Dari for freedom and equality.

“All or none. Don’t be afraid. We are together,” they chanted.

In video obtained by The Associated Press, one woman said Taliban security forces used violence to disperse the group.

“The girls were beaten and whipped,” she said. “They also brought military women with them, whipping the girls. We ran away, some girls were arrested. I don’t know what will happen.”