Back in September, in a measure designed to “prevent immorality”, the Taliban closed down the internet in Afghanistan. This was the latest step – after a ban on all girls over the age of 12 receiving an education, and the removal of all books written by women from universities – to restrict citizens’ access to information that the regime might consider dangerous or difficult, or that challenges their ideological monopoly. The effect would have been to ensure that an entire generation of Afghans failed to reach their potential; the connection was partly restored 48 hours later, after widespread condemnation.
It was against this backdrop that I read about the school in Weymouth, Dorset, that had removed American author Angie Thomas’s wildly popular young adult novel The Hate U Give from its Year 10 reading list, apparently in response to the objection of one parent, former Conservative councillor James Farquharson. While copies of the book would continue to be available in the school library, its removal from classrooms sent a worrying message: that one man’s comfort could be considered more important than the rights of an entire student cohort to access literature that might speak directly to them, never mind that it may contain dangerous or difficult ideas.
