Education rules issued for Taliban women

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Women in Afghanistan can continue to study in universities, including at post-graduate levels. But the new higher education minister say that classrooms will be gender-segregated and Islamic dress is compulsory.

The announcement comes as a Taliban official said Qatar’s foreign minister arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul – the highest level visitor since the Taliban announced their interim Cabinet. There was no immediate confirmation of the visit by Qatari officials.

Earlier yesterday, the higher education minister laid out the new policies at a news conference, several days after Afghanistan’s new rulers formed an all-male government. On Saturday, the Taliban had raised their flag over the presidential palace, signaling the start of the work of the new government.

The world has been watching closely to see to what extent the Taliban might act differently from their first time in power, in the late 1990s. During that era, girls and women were denied an education, and were excluded from public life.