Afghan religious scholar urges Taliban to support women's rights

Renowned religious scholar and a senior in Afghanistan's religious circles Sheikh Abdul Hameed on Sunday urged the Taliban regime to support women's rights, according to reports from the Afghan capital.

While addressing a public gathering in Kabul, the religious scholar told his followers that Islam has given women the "highest degree of respect" as well as portions in inheritance and that their roles have been mentioned in Quranic verses.

He maintained that men and women in every society have the capacity to work on the same level and in all departments, adding that in Islam, women have been ranked as capable as their male counterparts.

He cited the roles of the wives of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Hazrat Aisha and Hazrat Khadija, highlighting that Hazart Aisha has narrated multiple hadith from the prophet.

"In Islamic society, we cannot ignore women's roles and participation in sustainable development," he said and directed all concerned authorities to allow women to play their roles in the development of Afghan society.

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Abdul Hameed stressed that the current government should pave the way and offer women the means for education and remove all hurdles.

He said that barring women from obtaining a university-level education and setting such a standard will not have a positive effect on Afghan society.

He urged the current regime to give women from all walks of life their rights, including the right to earn, educate and work.

The religious scholar also urged the government not to be "narrow-minded" about girls' education but to pave the way under Islamic rules rather than adopting aggressive measures against the female population.

He said that Afghan women have the capacity to exceed in all walks of life and they should be included in the government formation. He suggested appointing women as ambassadors to foreign countries as Afghan representatives.