Taliban bans books written by women from Afghan universities, expands restrictions on higher education

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has banned books written by women from university curricula and barred the teaching of 18 subjects, including several devoted to women, in a decree officials described as aligning with their interpretation of Sharia. The move comes as authorities have tightened restrictions on education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, affecting about 140 titles authored by women among a broader list of 680 books deemed 'of concern' for allegedly opposing 'anti-Sharia and Taliban policies.' The universities were told they could no longer teach these subjects, a development officials described as part of a broader overhaul of the curriculum.

In a late August decree, Ziaur Rahman Aryubi, the deputy academic director of the Taliban government's Ministry of Higher Education, said the decisions were made by a panel of 'religious scholars and experts.' The 50-page list circulated to all Afghan universities identifies 679 titles as problematic, with 310 of those either written by Iranian authors or published in Iran. The ban also appears to target content from Iranian sources, one panel member telling the BBC Afghan that the aim was to 'prevent the infiltration of Iranian content' into the Afghan curriculum. The government has argued that the steps reflect Afghanistan's cultural and religious norms, a posture it repeatedly asserts justifies restrictions on education, media, and public life.

Among the 18 prohibited subjects are six that focus specifically on women, including Gender and Development, The Role of Women in Communication, and Women’s Sociology. The decree broadens a trend of narrowing curricular space for women since the Taliban took control in August 2021, a trend that has included barring girls from secondary education in many areas and shuttering certain professional programs. The move leaves universities with a significant gap in course offerings and raises questions about how instructors can teach the remaining subjects while complying with the regime’s constraints.

Academic officials expressed concern about the practical fallout of the ban. A professor at one institution spoke on condition of anonymity, saying it would be nearly impossible to fill the gap created by the removal of women-authored titles and Iranian textbooks that once connected Afghan students to broader scholarship. 'Books by Iranian authors and translators serve as the primary link between Afghanistan’s universities and the global academic community,' the professor said. 'Their removal creates a substantial void in higher education.' Another Kabul University professor noted that faculty members may be forced to draft new textbook chapters themselves, attempting to reconcile global scholarly standards with the Taliban’s do’s and don’ts.

The new policy forms part of a four-year trajectory of education-related restrictions under the Taliban’s rule. The same week that the book ban was reported, officials imposed a fibre-optic internet blackout in at least 10 provinces, citing concerns about immorality and the need to protect public virtue. While the government has framed these actions as upholding cultural and religious norms, critics argue they curtail access to information, stifle academic collaboration, and disproportionately harm women and girls who have been cut off from many pathways to higher learning since 2021.

The Taliban government maintains that its actions reflect a commitment to 'women’s rights' as interpreted through Afghan culture and Islamic law. A Taliban spokesman or ministry official has consistently reiterated that rights are defined within that framework, a stance that has drawn international concern given the restrictions’ impact on education, livelihoods, and gender equality. In reporting on the policy, BBC Afghan quoted a member of the book-review committee saying that 'all books authored by women are not allowed to be taught,' a claim that underscores the tension between the regime’s stated intent and the lived realities of Afghan students and scholars. The BBC also noted that the ministry has not publicly commented on the list beyond the decree, and contact attempts with the Ministry of Education did not yield a timely response.

Experts warn that the removal of women-authored and Iranian content risks isolating Afghan higher education from global scholarship and undermining faculty capacity to deliver robust, standards-based instruction. Some academics worry that the resulting isolation could persist for years, long after the initial decree loses momentum or is modified. In Kabul, professors say the onus will fall on teachers to improvise within the Taliban’s framework, a task that could relegate many courses to purely domestic, ideology-aligned content rather than diverse, internationally informed curricula.

The broader context includes ongoing constraints on women’s access to education, with girls’ schooling already limited in many areas and women’s participation in public life sharply curtailed. The government has insisted that its policies are safeguards of Afghan culture and Islam, while opponents argue they erase decades of progress and undermine the country’s educational system. Observers say the latest move—tied to a wider pattern of tightening control over academic content, media, and technology—will likely intensify calls from international partners for the Taliban to honor commitments on education and gender equality while engaging with global academic communities anew.