CNN
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A Kabul professor tears up his diploma live on television in Afghanistan in protest at the Taliban’s ban on women from higher education.
This man named Ismail Mashal is the founder of Mashal Private University in Kabul and also a lecturer at Kabul University.
With tears in his eyes and his voice shaking, he tore up his diploma during an appearance on the country’s Tolo News on Monday.
“Starting today, I no longer need this certificate because this country is not a place for education. If my sister and mother can’t go to school, then I don’t receive this education,” he said.
He added that the diploma was for some of his Masters and Doctoral degrees, and that it was the original.
Clips of her performance have since gone viral, including being retweeted by Shabnam Nasimi, former policy adviser to Afghanistan’s Minister of Resettlement & Minister of Refugees, who is based in the UK.
“Stunning scene when a Kabul university professor destroys his diploma on live TV in Afghanistan,” Nasimi tweeted, alongside the clip.
The Taliban announced on December 20 that university education for all female students had been suspended. This follows the government banning girls from attending high school in March this year.
This also comes after many other restrictions were placed on women’s liberties, including their access to public spaces. In November, women are barred from entering all parks in Kabul. That same month, a Taliban official in Kabul announced that women would be banned from gyms across the country.
Women are also required to wear headscarves and dress modestly in public under Taliban rule.