Taliban Blocks Women’s Voices From Afghan Curriculum

• By Thetripurapost Web Desk, Kabul
• Sep 23, 2025
• 632

In a move described by Afghan educators as an attempt to erase women from public life, the Taliban has imposed a sweeping ban on 140 books authored by women and outlawed 18 academic subjects — including Human Rights, Women’s Sociology, Gender and Development, and Sexual Harassment. The decree, issued in late August, also struck off even scientific material such as Safety in the Chemical Laboratory for being “anti-Taliban.”

Officials further blocked 310 Iranian titles, openly admitting the measure was designed to curb “Iranian influence” in Afghan classrooms.

The crackdown compounds four years of restrictions since the Taliban’s return to power. Girls remain barred from schooling beyond grade six, while midwifery courses — once vital for women’s health — were shut down in 2024. Today, nearly 2.5 million Afghan girls over age 12 are out of classrooms, in a country of 43 million people — half of them women.

Despite repeated claims that it “respects women’s rights” under its interpretation of Sharia, the Taliban’s escalating bans suggest otherwise. By excising women’s voices, subjects, and opportunities from the very curriculum, observers say, the regime is attempting to render women intellectually invisible in Afghan society.