Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, a prominent Dubai businessman, has extended a helping hand by awarding scholarships to approximately 100 Afghan women, enabling them to pursue their education in the United Arab Emirates. Unfortunately, the Taliban’s recent restrictions in Afghanistan have prevented these young women from attending university.
Several scholarship recipients had made arrangements to travel from Kabul to Dubai last week to pursue their studies abroad, with Al Habtoor eagerly awaiting their arrival. However, just before their scheduled departure, the Taliban obstructed the young women from leaving.
Al Habtoor expressed his surprise at the unexpected turn of events, saying, “The fact that the Taliban prevented their departure caught us completely off guard. We were shocked because we diligently arranged all the necessary approvals with the help of Dubai’s local authorities, including the foreign affairs office, immigration, and police, who assisted us. Everyone collaborated to facilitate the entire process, and everything was ready.”
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, a billionaire and the founder of the successful Al Habtoor Group conglomerate, took to social media to share a voice message from one of the women who were denied the opportunity to travel to Dubai. In her message, the young woman explained that she was accompanied by a male escort, as required since December 2021 when the Taliban implemented a law mandating that Afghan women must have a male guardian, such as a husband or close relative, to travel beyond 75 kilometers (46 miles) or leave the country.
The Taliban, who returned to power in August 2021 after two decades, initially promised to uphold women’s rights under Sharia, or Islamic law. However, they have since introduced a series of laws severely curtailing the rights of women and girls, excluding them from public life, educational institutions, and the job market, while severely limiting their freedom of movement.
Amnesty International, a human rights organization, has described the Taliban’s systematic disenfranchisement of Afghan women as a potential crime against humanity. Reports received by Amnesty International indicate that the Taliban is also explicitly targeting female human rights defenders, activists, former local allies, former government employees, and members of ethnic and religious minorities.
According to Amnesty International’s latest report on Afghanistan, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial executions have become commonplace in many parts of the country over the past two years.
Zahra Rajabi, one of the young Afghan women prohibited from continuing her education, expressed frustration, stating, “The world is just looking on. We are tired of people saying they regret seeing these circumstances. Surely, the international community can take a stand and ensure that these circumstances change.”
Rajabi hopes that international pressure will compel the Taliban to reconsider their decision and reopen secondary schools and universities for women.
A few fortunate female students who received scholarships from Al Habtoor managed to arrive in Dubai on August 24. Al Habtoor remains committed to working on communication and negotiations to bring the remaining female scholarship recipients to Dubai, expressing confidence that a resolution will be reached soon.