Afghan students queue at one of Kabul University’s gates in Kabul, Afghanistan. AP
Kabul: Women in Afghanistan have been deprived of university education after the Taliban imposed a ban last week in a bid to limit their presence in public spaces. However, FutureLearn, a British higher education platform, has come to the rescue of Afghan women.
FutureLearn has announced free access to its digital learning platform for the duration of the Taliban ban on university education.
A statement released by the platform read, “Girls and women with internet access will be able to study short courses and expert tracks from the best of British higher education at no cost to themselves.”
The chairman of FutureLearn said, “For girls and women who can access the internet and afford the time, this could be a lifeline.”
He, however, acknowledged that poor connectivity, poverty and language constraints may act like barriers but the offer can “nonetheless play a valuable part in enabling women in Afghanistan to assert their inalienable human right to education.”
FutureLearn was set up by the Open University in 2012 and this year it came under the leadership of the Global University Systems. The platform offers courses on behalf of around 200 universities from across the world.
Under the Afghan women program, students will be able to access over 1,200 courses on the FutureLearn platform via a free subscription.
President of the Open Society Foundation Lord Mark Malloch-Brown said, “The Taliban think the world has forgotten them; we mustn’t. This commendable move by FutureLearn to open up its platform to women denied their rights under this regime will play a useful part in keeping education within reach of those with an internet connection. It is a welcome sign that our commitment to fighting for human rights for all Afghans remains strong.”
World condemns ban
Taliban’s most recent ban has invited a string of condemnation from countries all across the world.
According to US State Department, a joint statement issued by Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States said, “We strongly condemn the Taliban’s recent decisions to ban women from universities, to continue to bar girls from secondary schools, and to impose other harsh restrictions on the ability of women and girls in Afghanistan to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
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