"If Mother, Sister Can't...": Afghan Professor Tears Up Diplomas On TV

A Kabul University professor tore up his diplomas on live television, saying he does not accept this education if his "mother and sister can't study".

A clip from the TV show, now viral, shows the professor holding up his diplomas one by one. He then tears them up one by one.

Shabnam Nasimi, former policy advisor to the Minister for Afghan Resettlement & Minister for Refugees, "Astonishing scenes as a Kabul university professor destroys his diplomas on live TV in Afghanistan."

Astonishing scenes as a Kabul university professor destroys his diplomas on live TV in Afghanistan —

“From today I don't need these diplomas anymore because this country is no place for an education. If my sister & my mother can't study, then I DON'T accept this education.” pic.twitter.com/cTZrpmAuL6

— Shabnam Nasimi (@NasimiShabnam) December 27, 2022

"From today I don't need these diplomas anymore because this country is no place for an education. If my sister & my mother can't study, then I DON'T accept this education," she quoted the professor as saying. Nasimi currently works as executive director of Conservative Friends of Afghanistan, a group that exists to promote understanding and support for Afghanistan in the United Kingdom.

In August last year, Taliban recaptured Afghanistan two decades after they had been driven out by US forces in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Soon after they seized power, Taliban leaders promised a softer rule. However, their actions revealed otherwise as restrictions made their way into every aspect of women's lives.

Last week, the Taliban government banned university education for women across Afghanistan, drawing widespread criticism.

"You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice," Minister for Higher Education Neda Mohammad Nadeem said in a letter issued to all government and private universities.

The ban followed several changes in university rules, including gender-segregated classrooms and entrances. Also, women were only permitted to be taught by women professors or old men.

Most teenage girls across the country have already been banned from secondary school education, severely limiting university intake.