Women no more part of society in Afghanistan: Basketball player condemns Taliban university ban

Former captain of Afghanistan’s wheelchair basketball team Nilofar Bayat has condemned the Taliban’s ban on university education for women.

Nilofar Bayat, who is also a two-time war victim in Afghanistan, termed the ban on women as a ‘disaster’. On Tuesday, the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan said women in the country will not be allowed university education, a statement that drew massive flak from many countries.

This comes after the country had pledged softer rules when the Taliban took over. “The next step would be not allowing women to breathe or exist in society,” Bayat said in an exclusive interview with news agency ANI.

“It is almost one and a half years since schools have been closed for girls and now it’s time for universities to not allow women. This is a disaster,” Bayat, who fled from Afghanistan after the Taliban came into power, said.

“I feel that with such restrictions they are pushing women, tightening everything. Every day they are adding new rules, new restrictions and women are no more a part of society in Afghanistan,” she said.

Speaking further, Bayat said, “We all know the Taliban will never change. They are the same terrorists they were 25 years ago.” Bayat also spoke about why she left her country after the Taliban takeover.

“I left Afghanistan when the Taliban came because of what I did in Afghanistan. All the speeches that I gave against the Taliban. Of course, as a woman, I wasn’t safe in Afghanistan. It has been one year since I have been living with no home. I left everything behind and saved my life,” she said.

Back in the 1990s when the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan, a rocket hit Bayat’s home. At that time, she was two years old. Bayat lost her brother in the attack, while her father sustained serious injuries. The player herself lost a leg and injured her spinal cord.

Years later, the woman started practising basketball in a wheelchair. The Taliban’s return to Afghanistan forced Bayat to leave Afghanistan on August 18, 2021, after which she landed in Spain.

“I am a two-time victim of war by the Taliban. They destroyed my life and took all my achievements,” Bayat said, adding, “I could not even say bye to my dear ones.”

“It has been more than a year since we have been fighting a group of terrorists. Unfortunately, this is not about me. It is about the life of 34 million people in Afghanistan”, she added.