Law students and young lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the Taliban takeover.  Here, one of our correspondents in Kabul speaks of a wave of resignations of Afghan university professors after Taliban women were officially barred from higher education on Tuesday.  For privacy and security reasons, we are withholding our correspondent’s name. The text has only been lightly edited to respect the author’s voice.

After a Taliban decree on Tuesday announced that females are not allowed to attend universities, a surge of resignations has taken place among Afghan university professors. On Wednesday the Taliban physically closed the gates of all the universities and forced girls to leave the premises with lashes and sticks. Taliban also barged into the private universities and beat many girls who had been snuck in by their professors to take their last exam in secret.

University professors in response to this immoral decision have started a movement called “All or No One”, and are continuously growing in numbers in submitting their resignation letters. One professor wrote that “Serving a society where half the population’s basic rights are stripped from them, is betrayal.” In response to these reactions, the current Taliban minister of higher education has tweeted a hadith and somehow has interpreted it that for women “Service to their husbands is more important than learning”, and has called out anyone who has opposed this decision as  opposing Islam.

A mentality that seeks and elevates supremacy either by gender, ethnic group or simply “Someone who is a better Muslim”, is immune to logic. Only unified action taken by the international community will be effective to end this hostage situation for an entire country.

[Since this report was filed earlier today, our correspondent in Kabul adds: “In recent hours they [the Taliban] have announced that female teachers, employees and principals are not to be permitted inside schools.”]