Afghan Professor Arrested for Tearing Diploma in Protest Against "Ban on Women's Education"

Strong Criticism of Taliban's Harsh Policies Discriminating Against Women
Eventually Arrested While Distributing Free Books on the Street

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seung-woo] An Afghan university professor who criticized the Taliban's ban on women's education has ultimately been arrested.

On the 4th (local time), US CNN and UK BBC reported that 37-year-old Professor Ismail Marshal, who teaches students at Kabul University in Afghanistan, was arrested. Marshal is reportedly charged with inciting social chaos and committing "provocative acts" against the Taliban government.

Professor Marshal is also the founder of Marshal University, a private university with 450 female students. The subjects taught at this university, including journalism, engineering, economics, and computer science, are all banned for women by the Taliban Ministry of Education on the grounds that they contradict Islam and Afghan culture.

In December last year, the Taliban banned women's participation in university classes until further notice. The reasons given were that women did not comply with hijab regulations at school and that mixed-gender classes violated Islamic law.

In response, Professor Marshal completely closed his school, stating, "Education should be provided to everyone or to no one." In the same month, he appeared on a live news broadcast and protested by tearing up his diploma, saying, "I will not accept education in a country where my mother and sister cannot study."

Since then, Professor Marshal has suffered many threats, including death threats. Nevertheless, he did not back down and raised his voice almost daily in local media. In an interview with the BBC last month, he said, "My pen is the only power I have," and added, "Even if they kill me and tear me apart, I will not be silent." He also said, "If you are a man, you must stand up to protest against discrimination against women."

Professor Ismail Marshal being interviewed by AFP news agency last December [Photo by AFP]

Marshal also distributed books for free to anyone who wanted them on the streets. It is reported that he was arrested while handing out books on the streets of Kabul. Abdul Haq Hamad, director of media at the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, stated, "He is accused of causing chaos by gathering journalists on the streets and harming the Taliban government."

BBC reported that Professor Marshal was assaulted during the arrest process. However, the Taliban denied this, saying, "The professor is being treated well while in custody."

Since coming to power, the Taliban government has repeatedly announced policies suppressing women, drawing international criticism. Last month, they banned women from taking university entrance exams. As a result, female students cannot take university entrance exams regardless of bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees. The Taliban government warned that legal action would be taken against universities that disobey the order. There are about 200,000 students enrolled in 140 private universities in Afghanistan, of whom about 60,000 are women.

In Afghanistan, female middle and high school students are also unable to attend classes. According to the United Nations, it is estimated that more than one million female students are unable to go to school.