Taliban Enforce 50 New Rules on Afghanistan Universities, Ban Smartphones, Images
DID Press: Taliban Ministry of Higher Education has issued a new 10-page decree imposing 50 additional restrictions on university professors, staff, and students — including a ban on smartphones, the removal of all images depicting living beings, and a mandatory dress code requiring male staff to wear turbans.
The directive, signed by Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem, orders universities across the country to fully enforce the new rules, which sources say further tighten control over academic environments and restrict freedom within higher education institutions.
According to the decree, carrying or using smartphones on university premises is strictly prohibited. It also instructs that all images of living beings be removed from classrooms and university grounds.
“All environments must be cleaned of un-Islamic activities, images of living beings, and inappropriate symbols, and necessary reforms must be implemented,” the document reads.
The ministry also mandates that all university professors and administrative employees wear turbans, with management responsible for ensuring compliance among their subordinates.
The restrictions extend beyond teaching staff. Administrative employees in the fourth grade and below are banned from using or carrying mobile phones during working hours, while lower-ranking professors are ordered to “reduce” their smartphone use.
The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has been tasked with monitoring the implementation of these regulations across universities.
Afghanistan’s education system has faced a wave of restrictions since the Taliban’s return to power four years ago — including the suspension of education for girls and women, changes to curricula, the removal of certain subjects, and the banning of specific books.
Sources within the Ministry of Higher Education say the latest decree effectively eliminates what little academic independence remained in Afghanistan universities, placing them under the Taliban’s full ideological and administrative control.