Statement on the restrictions for women in Afghanistan
With great concern, the University of Konstanz continues to follow the recent developments in Afghanistan, especially at the local universities.
In December 2022, the Taliban government decided to ban women from higher education, and reiterated this step in January 2023 with a written reminder and renewed threat of legal action at universities. In doing so, the Taliban further restricts the rights of women in Afghanistan, disregarding the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls.
Access to education is a basic right that must not be denied on the basis of gender. We therefore call for an immediate end to the restrictions and repression to which women are subjected in Afghanistan and for the unrestricted re-admission of female school and university students as well as teachers, lecturers and researchers to Afghan schools and universities. Our solidarity is with the women of Afghanistan and their right to education. We therefore expressly welcome the DAAD's new scholarship programme for Afghan female students.
Katharina Holzinger, Rector of the University of Konstanz
Dorothea Debus, Vice Rector for International Affairs, Equal Opportunity and Diversity