US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to immediately lift restrictions on women's education and work.

Marking two years of the ban on women's education in universities and women's work in NGOs, Blinken said on X that women and girls are the lynchpin to a more stable and prosperous Afghanistan.

“It’s been two years since Taliban (IEA) banned women and girls from universities and Afghan women from working in NGOs. Afghan women and girls are the lynchpin to a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan. We call on the Taliban (IEA) to immediately reverse these edicts,” he said.
The Ministry of Higher Education announced in December 2022 that women and girls could not attend public and private universities "until further notice".

Previously, girls' education above the sixth grade was also suspended.

Former US envoy for Afghanistan peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Saturday that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) can learn from Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, on how to join the mainstream international system.

He noted on X that the US bounty for the arrest of Ahmad al-Sharaa is being removed.

“Others in similar circumstances can learn from Ahmad al Shara how to join the mainstream international system. Are the Taliban paying attention?” he said.

Ahmad al-Sharaa has said that there are many differences between them and the Islamic Emirate.

He has said that he will not prevent the education of women and girls, respect the rights of minorities and will launch an inclusive political process.

Afghan men, inside and outside the country, must stand with their wives, daughters, and sisters to support a hopeful and viable future for the country, Rina Amiri, U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights, said on Saturday.

The statement comes as the world next week marks two years since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) banned Afghan women and girls from universities and women from working for nongovernmental organizations.

Amiri said an open letter on X that through these and more than 80 gender discriminatory policies, “the Taliban (IEA) have stripped women and girls of their agency, mobility, education, livelihood, voice, and access to life-saving medical institutes.”

She called on the international community to continue prioritizing human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls, in any engagement with the IEA. “Progress in improving diplomatic and economic ties must be meaningfully linked to concrete measures to reverse extreme policies targeting women and girls.”

Amiri also called on states, donors, academic institutions, and the private sector to match the resilience and creativity of Afghan women and girls with concrete support equipping them with resources, technology, education, employment tools, and economic opportunities.

“Afghanistan will remain in darkness so long as the dreams of Afghan women and girls are dimmed,” Amiri said. “The road ahead will be long, but hopelessness and resignation are not an option. “

“The world is being tested.  If we fail Afghan women and girls, we fail women and girls everywhere and set a dangerous precedent that will be replicated elsewhere, far beyond Afghanistan.”

This comes as the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that the rights of women and girls are ensured in Afghanistan according to Sharia.