OIC slams ban on Afghan women taking university exams

OIC slams ban on Afghan women taking university exams

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has urged the Afghanistan government to lift its ban on women writing university entrance examinations. This latest decree further tightens the sweeping restrictions on girls’ and women’s access to education and public work, the Saudi Press Agency reported the OIC as saying on Monday. The ban comes shortly after the OIC executive committee convened on Jan. 11 an extraordinary meeting on the “recent developments and the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.” The final communique of the meeting called on the Afghan authorities to “strive toward reopening schools and universities for girls and enable them to enroll in all levels of education and all specializations required by the Afghan people.” The OIC urged the Afghan government to reconsider this and other earlier decisions, which it said would have far-reaching social and economic ramifications. Last month, the OIC also voiced its concern over the threat to women’s rights in Afghanistan following a decision by the Taliban leadership to ban women from jobs in national and international nongovernment organizations. In an order issued on Dec. 24, 2022, the Ministry of Economy in Kabul ordered all national and international NGOs to suspend the jobs of female employees until further notice.