Taliban bans books written by women from Afghan Universitites, blocks 18 subjects including human rights

The Taliban has banned books written by women from being used in Universities in Afghanistan.

The order, issued in late August 2025, also prohibits the teaching of 18 subjects that Taliban officials say clash with Sharia law and their policies. Among the prohibited subjects are human rights, sexual harassment, Gender and Development, Women’s Sociology and The Role of Women in Communication — subjects that had offered some of the last academic space to talk about women’s lives.

Science-related titles like Safety in the Chemical Laboratory were also struck off for being “anti-Taliban”.

The decree also blocks 310 books authored by Iranian writers or publishers, with officials admitting it is an attempt to stop “Iranian influence” in Afghan classrooms.

Since the Taliban’s return to power four years ago, girls have been barred from studying beyond grade six and midwifery courses were shut down in 2024. 

In recent weeks, the consequences of Taliban law were seen in a different tragedy: women trapped under debris during the Afghanistan earthquake went without help because men unrelated to them were forbidden to touch them. 

Afghanistan has a population of about 43 million — nearly half of them women. Around 2.5 million girls aged 12 and above — the age group barred from secondary school and universities — remain out of classrooms.

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