Taliban Bans More than 500 Books in University Curriculum

    The Afghan Taliban banned many books written by women from being read and taught at universities during September of 2025. After being debated over by a panel of experts and Islamic scholars, the ban was passed by the Higher Education Ministry. In addition to books, the ban includes courses that contradict the Taliban’s interpretation on Islamic law. Around 680 books are now banned that range from Human rights to Women’s Studies to Constitutional Law, including around 140 that are written by women.
Officials declared that the aim of the policy is to ensure that all studies are compatible with Islamic Sharia as well as Afghan cultural traditions, but the action has incited a backlash. Afghan students and scholars worry that the banning of books and courses authored by women would restrict their leaving and reduce their exposure to other perspectives. Certain authors, including Zakia Adeli, whose work is on the 50 page list of banned books, indicate that this action is part of a broader attempt by the Taliban to silence women. Global NGOs and human right groups say that the policy hinders academic freedom and equal rights for women.
    In other parts of the world, women have been and continue to be active participants in academic and religious scholarship. In Egypt, at al-Azhar University, one of the world’s greatest centers for Islamic learning, women study and teach. In Indonesia, female writers and scholars provide significant contributions to religious and secular scholarship. Widely, Sharia law is not understood to prevent women from studying, writing, reading, or scholarship. However, Afghanistan under Taliban rule provides none of these opportunities to women. Their laws and policys instead actively aim to keep women out of the public sphere.
The decrease raises significant questions regarding the future direction of Afghan higher education. How and under what terms will universities reshape the curriculum? What effects will this have on the nation as a whole? For many, the policy represents a larger clash between religious interpretations, cultural heritage, and education and academic freedom.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/world/asia/taliban-ban-women-author-books.html?searchResultPosition=1
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/19/afghanistan-bans-female-authors-from-university-curricula
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kn7yyzrjgo