Will Allow Women At Universities, But Mixed Classes Banned: Taliban

Women's rights in Afghanistan were sharply curtailed under the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, though since returning to power last month they have claimed they will implement a less extreme rule.

Afghan women will be allowed to attend university as long as they study separately from men, the Taliban's new higher education minister said Sunday. Women's rights in Afghanistan were sharply curtailed under the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, though since returning to power last month the hardline Islamists have claimed they will implement a less extreme rule. But speaking to reporters about the new regime's plans for the country's education, Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani was unapologetic about bringing an end to mixed sex classes. "We have no problems in ending the mixed-education system," he said. "The people are Muslims and they will accept it."