Kabul University looks deserted as Taliban govt bans women in campus

Kabul [Afghanistan], September 30 (ANI): As the Taliban restricted the entry of women at Kabul University, the normally bustling campus was seen deserted and silent due to the lack of students, teachers here at the university, noted international media.
According to The Washington Post, classes have been suspended at the campus, only male staff have been allowed to work on research or office tasks. The Taliban has said that women will be banned from teaching or studying at public universities in Afghanistan until they can be segregated from men -- but at Kabul University, students of both genders have been sent home.
Taliban imposed a new "harsh" education policy, in which females may be present on campuses only if they wear traditional Islamic garb and do not share space with male students.
The Washington Post quoting Taliban spokesperson Bilal Karimi reported that authorities were "working on a comprehensive plan to ensure a peaceful environment for female students." After that plan is finalised, they (female) would be allowed to continue their education."
Several Kabul University faculty members and students have expressed deep concern about the hardening Taliban stance on women's access to public universities.
"It makes me very sad," said Javeda Ahmed, a longtime professor at Kabul University, who said she taught girls at home during the first Taliban regime. She noted that the university has far fewer female than male teachers, making it impossible to divide them evenly. If men can't teach the girls, then who will?" she asked. "Where will their knowledge go?"
Over the weekend, Kabul University's nearly 70 teaching staff resigned in protest after the Taliban fired the doctorate-level vice-chancellor. The group replaced the chancellor with one of their own members who has had significantly less formal education, reported New York Post.
Earlier, the Taliban-appointed new chancellor Mohammad Ashraf Ghairat barred women from the institution as either teachers or students. But under the strict mandate of gender segregation, classes in various private institutions are open to all.
Many faculty members objected when Ghairat was appointed last week by the Taliban to replace a widely respected academic, according to The Washington Post. (ANI)