Date: 1400/06/21 Officials at the Ministry of Higher Education have announced a decision regarding the educational process based on gender segregation. According to this decision, the days of the week will be divided between male and female students. On the days when female students are scheduled to attend classes, no male students or even male professors will be present at the university.

The Ministry of Higher Education’s gender-segregated scheduling policy creates structural barriers that undermine women’s right to equal education. By excluding male professors and dividing class days by gender, the Taliban lowers academic quality and entrenches discrimination, restricting women’s role in public and professional life. After retaking power in 2021, the Taliban initially signaled moderation by allowing women to attend universities and take the 1401 entrance exam. But this brief openness quickly gave way to tightening restrictions: classroom segregation, bans on male instructors, and ultimately the total exclusion of women from higher education.

This sequence reveals a calculated strategy—using symbolic inclusion to deflect criticism while systematically dismantling women’s access to education. Allowing exams but denying enrollment illustrates how procedural gestures mask a broader agenda of gender exclusion. These policies are not religious imperatives, but deliberate efforts to erase women from intellectual and public life.