A prominent activist who campaigned for girls’ education in Afghanistan has been arrested by Taliban authorities in Kabul.
Matiullah Wesa, from the southern province of Kandahar, was arrested on Monday having spent several years advocating for girls’ education.
“Matiullah Wesa, head of (Pen Path) and advocate for girls’ education, was arrested in Kabul Monday,” the UN Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement. “UNAMA calls on the de facto authorities to clarify his whereabouts, the reasons for his arrest and to ensure his access to legal representation and contact with family.”
Pen Path, the organisation Matiullah founded, campaigns for schools and distributes books in rural areas. It has long dedicated itself to communicating the importance of girls’ education to village elders.
Despite at first promising more moderate rule, the Taliban have banned girls from school, barred women from most employment and ordered them to cover up from head to toe in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms.
Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, two of the three countries that recognise the Taliban government, are among those who have condemned its decision to ban women from attending school.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said the ban was "neither Islamic nor humane", adding: "What harm is there in women’s education? Our religion, Islam, is not against education; on the contrary, it encourages education and science."
The UAE’s foreign affairs ministry said the Taliban’s decision "profoundly jeopardises the international community’s efforts to engage with the Taliban" and was an example of them trying to "erase" women from public life.
