Downloaded from www.clastify.

com by Camilo Andrés Fajardo-G Craighouse School

GP HL EXTENSION SCRIPT
To what extent is the Taliban's ban on education in Afghanistan justifiable by identity politics?

Imagine waking up one day, suddenly learning that your dreams will never come true. From one
day to another, all your life plans have been destroyed. What would you do? This is the case of
80 percent of Afghani girls, who after the Taliban's return to power in 2021 have been revoked
from any sort of education by a decree targeting girls above the age of 8. Although the issue of
access to education regionally affects 1 in every 5 percent of girls in the mena region and 130
million international girls all around the world, what makes this case special is that in
Afghanistan education for girls and women is now criminalized and against the law.

This decision not only is exacerbating the already critical political, social and economic situation,

l
.c
se
but is also a clear reflection of:

ou
● Systematic segregation
● Illegitimate overuse of power gh
ai
● Opposes a threat to international rule of law
cr
@
do

This decree has been deemed illegitimate in the eyes of external political actors as it
ar

constitutes its violation of article 27 of the UDHR, stating that everyone has the right to
aj

education, making this a clear violation of human rights.

cf
y
tif

Through this case study, I will explore the different driving forces that might have pushed the
as

Taliban into committing this violation of human rights through the RQ: To what extent is the
Cl

Taliban's ban on education in Afghanistan justifiable by identity politics? Considered

under the global issue of identity.

To make sense of the case, it is important to refer back to Clash of Civilizations, a work that
narrates how our world is experiencing a paradigm shift as a result of a rise in identity politics,
creating an emerging clash between Islam and the Wessince of 9-11t.

NATIONAL IDENTITY
The first lens through which I will proceed to evaluate the issue consists of national identity,
which will be explored under two different perspectives, anti-imperialism on one hand,
representing Islam and on the other hand, universalism, representing the West.
Downloaded from www.clastify.com by Camilo Andrés Fajardo-G Craighouse School

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights promotes the concept of universalism, opposed to
by anti-imperialist and postcolonial thinkers to which it is considered as
● an epitomization of Western ideologies
● and a sort of neo-colonialism
● and cultural globalization camouflaged under the realm of morality.

They argue that the concept of universality of human rights has been politicized and
instrumentalized by Imperialist forces with the intention of
● perpetuating past Imperialist history
● Maintaining power over non-Western countries
● Promoting a Judeo-Christian mentality that suppresses other identities

l
.c
se
ou
This is reflected in the real world, as the UDHR is used as a customary form of International Law
gh
employed in order to apply political pressure to countries non-complying to it. Indeed, it has
ai
served external actors such as the US to oppose legitimacy to the Taliban and freeze any sort of
cr

financial help.
@
do

Previous invasion
ar
aj

These objectives are reason enough to induce fear in the Taliban, who have openly showcased
cf

their ideological antagonism towards the United States in the past, accusing them of cultural
y
tif

imperialism through the imposition of values such as

as

● Secularization - opposing fundamentalism

Cl

● Feminism - opposing modesty and impunity

● Anti-Islamism

The Taliban views these universal rights as a threat to the Afghani national identity. In
this particular case, by not compelling international law and violating the theory of
universalism, the ban on education for girls is justified by a need for preservation of
national identity in attempts to challenge and displace the politico-cultural hegemony
and win the ideological war against the West.

Religious identity
Downloaded from www.clastify.com by Camilo Andrés Fajardo-G Craighouse School

Now that we are aware of the justification through national identity, let's explore an even more
significant but contradicting factor: religion.

A Taliban representative officially stated that women rights will be respected under the
requirements of Islamic Law. This claim has been severely and unjustly criticized by external
actors, although the Taliban simply wanted to rejoice from one of their basic human rights, their
freedom to practice their own religion as stated in Article 18 of the United Declaration of Human
Rights.

The criticisms stem from a portrayal of Islamic Law as barbaric and regressive in terms of
women’s rights, due to the fact it is not a strict legal code as opposed to International Law, which
leaves it open to interpretation by governments and religious leaders.

l
.c
se
ou
To avoid judging, we can use a cultural relativist approach, which claims that all moral systems
gh
are all equally valid. By using this theory, the ban on education against girls is justified as
ai
it is clear that the Taliban is simply adhering to principles and values more compatible
cr

with their religious identity.

@
do
ar

The second religious argument I will explore will be through the revival of religious extremism. It
aj

is key to mention that the Taliban follows a particularly radical interpretation of Islamic Law, the
cf

Deobandi Islamic School of thought.

y
tif

This need stems from a phenomena of religious revivalism, seen as a consequence of the
as

larger upsurge in identity politics.

Cl

Before going further into analysis, it is primordial to make a clear distinction between the
concepts of Islam and Islamism, on many occasions consfused between each other.

Islamism: consists of the instrumentalization of religion to serve certain political goals. It is

manifested in two different ways:
● Social conservatism: which aims to strengthen the identity through a return to religious
values.
● Religious fundamentalism:
Downloaded from www.clastify.com by Camilo Andrés Fajardo-G Craighouse School

○ Characterized by a rejection of the distinction between religion and politics, it

arises when the society is afflicted by a crisis of identity due to the surge of
secularization, globalization or postcolonialism.

Islam: On the other hand, Islam is simply a religious ideology, followed by 25 percent of the
population. Due to its confusion with Islamism, it is rendered as barbaric and misogynistic, when
in reality, there is no Quranic verse that justifies a ban on education, on the contrary, the
religious book itself explicitly calls for equality amongst the genders and fosters a quest for
knowledge.

The actions of the Taliban even violate the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam. So,
this is not about religion, this is about manipulation.

l
.c
se
ou
According to a feminist point of view, in this case and many other situations of
gh
gender-discrimination, governments use perversion of religion and cultural relativism as
ai
● Scapegoat for violations of human rights
cr

● Defense mechanism to protect nationalism against threats

@
do

In this case, through empeeding women's access to education men achieve the following goals
ar

- maintaining women in a never ending cycle of dependence on men:

aj

● Politically: no education, no knowledge, no opposition to government, submission to

cf

authorities
y
tif

● Economically: no education, no job, no financial independence, submission to husband

as

● Socially: no education, no power, stays in lower hierarchical status

Cl

Indeed, the ban is justified under a patriarchal culture aiming to maintain women in its
initial role, at home taking care of chores and the children .

To what extent is the Taliban's ban on education in Afghanistan justifiable by identity

politics?
This study is not an isolated case. Cultural relativist justifications and manipulations of religions
are evoked all around the globe to justify discrimination.
● From an anti-abortion law passed in Texas, wrongly justified by a manipulation of
Christian values
● Israel - divorce solely depends on the husband
Downloaded from www.clastify.com by Camilo Andrés Fajardo-G Craighouse School

● FGM in Somalia
● Child marriage in Cuba

After analyzing different views on the issue, it is clear that it is all a matter of perspective.
As we have seen, even within the same religion debate and controversy might still arise.
This collision between the idea of "universal human rights" as an objective truth brings up all
sorts of complicated arguments about imperialism and colonialism, ethnocentrism or
xenophobia,
However, if the only factors that justify this ban are built upon
● a fear of Western values
● a manipulation of religion
● a patriarchal and misogynistic culture

l
.c
se
it is easy to conclude that the justification is deemed non legitimate.

ou
gh
We have to call this what it really is, without hiding between a curtain of relativism, this is a
ai
crime against humanity, depriving women from the most valued resource and biggest obstacle
cr

to development, education.
@
do
ar
aj
cf
y
tif
as
Cl