VOA新闻杂志2022--塔利班暂停阿富汗女性大学教育

Taliban Bans Afghan Women from Universities

Women and girls in Afghanistan suffered another setback¹ in their push for equal access to education on Wednesday. Many universities closed their doors to female students hoping to take exams and attend class.

Reports by Voice of America and the Associated Press said young women could be seen crying after they were not permitted to go into their university buildings. Taliban fighters in Kabul and other Afghan cities blocked the students from going into their classrooms.

The action came one day after the Taliban administration shared a letter that said private and public universities should ban women and girls as soon as possible.

Rahimullah Nadeem is a spokesman² for Kabul University. He said classes for female students had ended but some were permitted to come inside to finish paperwork and other business. He said four graduation events took place Wednesday.

A student named Fatima attends a private university in Kabul. She told VOA she was supposed to take her final exams on Wednesday. But she and her classmates could not get in.

"All of us were crying and refusing to leave the gates for several hours, and begging Taliban authorities to let us take our exams," she said.

The move by Taliban leaders in Kandahar will hurt the nation's chances of creating diplomatic³ connections with outside governments. Those governments and other aid organizations have been holding back financial help because of what appears to be the Taliban's return to their extreme version of Islamic law, known as Sharia law.

The Taliban gained control of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 after U.S. forces pulled out. The new Taliban leadership promised changes that included giving women permission to go to school and have a public life.

Rina Amiri is a human rights adviser⁴ for the U.S. State Department. In a Twitter message, she said the decision "removes any doubt that they're reverting⁶ to the extreme policies of the 90s."

Before the announcement of the latest restriction⁷ on women, the government had banned girls from middle and high school education, restricted women from seeking most work and ordered them to wear burkas -- head-to-toe clothing -- in public.

Two Muslim nations, Qatar and Pakistan, criticized the university ban and asked the Taliban to reconsider the decision.

Antony Blinken is the U.S. Secretary of State. He said no other country prevents women from seeking education.

"The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate⁸ member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan," Blinken said.

Blinken said the Taliban's restrictions⁹ have likely cost the Afghan economy $1 billion because only half of its population is working and studying.

"No country can thrive when half its population is held back," he said.

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said he was "deeply alarmed" by the decision. He added that it would hurt the country's future.

Experts on Afghanistan criticized the move.

Abdallah Abdallah was a top leader in Afghanistan's former government. He called taking education away from girls "regrettable" in a message published on Twitter.

Ahmad Saeedi, an expert on Afghan politics, said the world must find another way to interact¹⁰ with the Taliban. But "the issue of recognition," he said, "is over."

Words in This Story

setback – n. a failure or defeat

beg –v. to ask seriously for something

authorities – n. people in charge

revert⁵ –v. to go back to something in the past

legitimate –adj. true or real

alarm – n. something that is concerning

interact – v. to mix or work with something

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

3 diplomatic   

adj.外交的，从事外交的，策略的，有手腕的

参考例句：

• There are certain forms that must be followed in diplomatic circles.在外交界有一些礼节是必须遵守的。
• You must be more diplomatic in handling the situation.你在处理这一情况时，必须圆滑。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

6 reverting   

恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还

参考例句：

• The boss came back from holiday all relaxed and smiling, but now he's reverting to type. 老板刚度假回来时十分随和，满面笑容，现在又恢复原样了。
• The conversation kept reverting to the subject of money. 谈话的内容总是离不开钱的事。

7 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

8 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。