The courage of the professor

On 27 August 2021, NATO left Afghanistan, in which it had ensured a twenty-year presence. The military surrender and the collapse of institutions paved the way for the regime of the very Taliban who had been driven out of Kabul two decades earlier. The international community has helplessly witnessed their reconquest of power, and the world of information has brought into our homes, on television screens and computers, tablets and smartphones, the images of the return of a barbaric regime responsible for serious human rights violations .

The regime regained power after the withdrawal of the NATO armed forces and the hasty flight of the government, and the Afghan population found itself facing a situation of dramatic economic and, above all, humanitarian crisis, in a context of denial of the most elementary forms of recognition and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. The United Nations has on several occasions adopted resolutions condemning a regime defined as terrorist, criminal and financed by the infamous drug market.
In recent months there has been news of the introduction in Afghanistan of a ban on women attending university. In truth, this uncivilized ban fits into the broader framework of the deliberate exclusion of women from the civil, political, cultural and economic life of the country. The women, completely covered by the humiliating burqa, cannot leave the house without being accompanied (and supervised) by a male relative. If they dare to protest, they are persecuted, imprisoned without trial, raped, tortured by the regime's thugs.

I don't think there can be any doubts about the absolute unacceptability of this situation from an ethical, moral, cultural and political point of view. But there is also a legal profile. Even in this area the law has its reasons.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December 10, 1948), in art. 2 proclaims that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social status, property, birth or other status". The subsequent art. 26 states that «everyone has the right to education (…) and higher education must be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit».

The international pact relating to economic, social and cultural rights adopted within the United Nations on 16 December 1966, incorporates in art. 13 the same approach: «The States parties to the present Pact recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education should aim at the full development of the human personality and a sense of his dignity and to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all individuals to participate effectively in the life of a free society, shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups and to encourage the development of United Nations peacekeeping activities. To ensure the full implementation of this right, "higher education must be accessible to all on an equal footing, on the basis of each one's aptitudes, by any means suitable for this, and in particular through the progressive establishment of free education".

In the United Nations system, a specialized institute was created (London, November 16, 1945), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), whose constitution reads that "the Organization intends to contribute to the maintenance of peace and security by strengthening, with education, science and culture, collaboration between nations, in order to ensure respect universal system of justice, the law, human rights and fundamental freedoms, for the benefit of all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, and which the Charter of the United Nations recognizes for all peoples". Among the actions envisaged is that of establishing "the collaboration of nations for the purpose of gradually implementing the ideal of the possibility of equal education for all, without distinction of race, sex or economic and social conditions". Afghanistan has been a member of UNESCO since 1948, in 1983 it ratified the pact on economic, social and cultural rights, and in 2003 the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

This treaty, in art. 10 establishes that «the same conditions of professional guidance, access to studies, acquisition of qualifications in educational establishments of all types and levels, both in rural areas and in urban areas. Equality must be guaranteed both in pre-school, general, technical, vocational and higher education, as well as in all other areas of vocational training.'
Ultimately, governments and international organizations, but also public opinion, civil society and the diverse and vibrant world of the media must exert all forms of pressure on the Taliban regime. The future of that country needs the full valorisation of women, and this also and above all passes through high levels of schooling and education.

The Secretary General of the UN, Guterres, wrote to the government in Kabul: «The latest restrictions imposed on the employment and education of women and girls are unjustifiable violations of human rights and must be revoked".
A professor at Kabul University, Ismail Meshal, tore up his diplomas on live TV in protest: "If my sister and my mother can't study, I won't accept this education system." Honor to his courage!


Edoardo Greppi
NP February 2023