Taliban Bans Books Authored by Women in Afghan Universities

Tue Nov 11 2025 04:17:07 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The Taliban's latest decree restricts educational content in Afghanistan, removing over 140 books written by women from university curricula, including essential subjects on women's studies.

In a significant move that raises concerns about educational freedoms in Afghanistan, the Taliban has implemented a ban on books written by women in universities. This decision, part of broader restrictions on educational content, follows a controversial path of limiting subjects deemed misaligned with their interpretation of Sharia law. The implications of these bans extend beyond literature, targeting entire fields of study critical for advancing gender equality and human rights education.

The Taliban government has removed books written by women from the university teaching system in Afghanistan as part of a new ban which has also outlawed the teaching of human rights and sexual harassment.

Some 140 books by women - including titles like Safety in the Chemical Laboratory - were among 680 books found to be of concern due to anti-Sharia and Taliban policies. The universities were further told they were no longer allowed to teach 18 subjects, with a Taliban official saying they were in conflict with the principles of Sharia and the system's policy.

This decree is the latest in a series of restrictions which the Taliban have brought in since returning to power four years ago. Just this week, fibre-optic internet was banned in at least 10 provinces on the orders of the Taliban's supreme leader in a move officials said was to prevent immorality.

While the rules have had an impact on many aspects of life, women and girls have been particularly hard hit: they are barred from accessing education over the sixth grade, with one of their last routes to further training cut off in late 2024, when midwifery courses were quietly shuttered.

Now even university subjects about women have been targeted: six of the 18 banned are specifically about women, including Gender and Development, The Role of Women in Communication, and Women's Sociology.

A member of the committee reviewing the books confirmed the ban on books written by women, telling BBC Afghan that all books authored by women are not allowed to be taught. Zakia Adeli, the former deputy minister of justice prior to the Taliban's return and one of the authors who has found their books on the banned list, was unsurprised by the move.

The new guidelines, which have been seen by BBC Afghan, were issued in late August. Ziaur Rahman Aryubi, the deputy academic director of the Taliban government's Ministry of Higher Education, said in a letter to universities that the decisions had been made by a panel of religious scholars and experts.

The ban appears to have targeted books by Iranian authors or publishers, with one member of the book review panel stating it was designed to prevent the infiltration of Iranian content into the Afghan curriculum. In the comprehensive list sent to all universities, 679 titles were cited, with a significant number authored by Iranian writers or published in Iran.

A professor at one institution, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the removal of such materials could create a substantial void in higher education, especially as they serve as a critical link to the global academic community.