'If my mother and sisters can't study': Afghan professor tears down diplomas on live TV

A professor of Kabul University tore up his diplomas on live television, saying that if his mother and sister cannot study, he cannot accept the education either. The professor said that he did not need the diplomas since Afghanistan was "no place for an education".

The visualof the professor tearing up his diplomas one by one on television has gone viral on social media. People from around the world are expressing empathy with the professor while urging the United Nations and multilateral forums to press hardliners in Kabul to reverse the decision to ban women from educational institutes.

Former policy advisor to the UK minister for Afghan resettlement and minister for refugees Shabnam Nasimi shared the video on Twitter and wrote: "Astonishing scenes as a Kabul university professor destroys his diplomas on live TV in Afghanistan."

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ALSO READ |Afghan women speak to WION as Taliban dismantle their right to education, campus after campus

The Taliban government in Kabul last week banned women from universities across Afghanistan, a move that was criticised worldwide. "You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending the education of females until further notice,"minister for higher education Neda Mohammad Nadeem said in a letter to all government and private universities in Afghanistan.

WION spoke to Afghan women as the Taliban took away their right to education campus after campus. From Jalalabad to Kabul, Afghan women shared what they said was the 'worst moment' of their lives. "There was never a time as helpless as this," a teacher from Jalalabad told WION.

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The UN deputy humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan Fran Equiza, in a meeting with the acting minister of public health Qalandar Ibad, also called for "the Taliban ban on women working for NGOs and international NGOs to be lifted in its entirety."

She added that the "ban will impact millions of the most vulnerable Afghans."

The US secretary of state Antony Blinken in a tweet said that "this decision could be devastating for the Afghan people, women are central to humanitarian operations around the world."

US special representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said: "The Taliban’s decree barring women from working to deliver humanitarian aid is profoundly irresponsible. It poses mortal risks to millions who depend on life-saving assistance."

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