In the biting cold of Kabul, Ismail Mashal rolls on a wooden trolley. He looks like one of the many fruit and vegetable sellers in the Afghan capital. But the education activist does not sell vegetables. – I have brought books from my school. I will hand them out for free in Kabul’s streets, says Mashal in a video clip he has sent to news. ARRESTED: Professor Ismail Mashal distributes books to girls in Kabul shortly before Taliban security forces picked him up on the street. Just a couple of months ago, Mashal was running a college. He taught over 450 students – many of them women. But last December, the Taliban closed the doors to the universities for women. Protest on TV Then Mashal did something that made him world famous. In the middle of a live broadcast on Afghanistan’s most watched television channel, Tolo News, he tore up his diplomas in protest against the ban on women’s education. – In this country, education is not worth anything, said the professor, choking back tears on TV. – When our sisters and mothers are not allowed to study, I don’t want to teach either. That’s why I’m tearing up my diplomas. There is no other solution. The clip with the committed professor went viral. Since then, he has been one of the fiercest critics of the Taliban’s school ban. news met the professor in Kabul a couple of weeks ago. – 20 million Afghan women have the right to education. They have received that right from God, Islam and the Koran. No one can do that right from them. ENGAGED: Professor Mashal stands on the barricades for Afghan women. He demands that all women be allowed to study again. Photo: AFP On Thursday, he took to the streets of Kabul to hand out some of the 20,000 books he has at the closed school. But he only managed to meet a few young girls and women who received his books with great interest. Because suddenly the Taliban appeared. Arrested by the Taliban – We were surrounded by a dozen policemen. They took Professor Mashal’s trolley, says one of his supporters on the phone from the Afghan capital to news. – The police gave us no explanation before they took him away, says the man, who we have chosen to remain anonymous. news has seen a mobile video which shows the Taliban’s police officers taking away both the professor and his trolley. Taliban soldiers took Professor Mashal away on Thursday. He has still not been released. Photo: MOHD RASFAN / AFP The Taliban confirm to news that the activist was arrested. – Around 12 o’clock on Thursday afternoon, Professor Mahshal was approached by our officers. Then a large crowd and a bunch of journalists gathered around him in the street, says Khalid Zadran, spokesman for the Kabul police. Kabul police believe the professor’s book stunt was perceived as a demonstration by Taliban police officers. Demonstrations require special permits from the Taliban. – People must apply before they can demonstrate. The security situation in Afghanistan is vulnerable. We therefore tend to send security forces to protect those who want to demonstrate legally. POLICE SPOKESMAN: Khalid Zadran confirms to news that Mashal was arrested and taken to a police station. – But Professor Mashal did not demonstrate. He distributed books. – Our officers did not get it. They only saw that there was a commotion around him. They perceived it as a demonstration. He had gathered a large crowd and press people around him. That’s why we interrupted him and took him to a conversation at the local police station, says the police spokesman to news. BOKTRALLE: Ismail Mashal ran his own college two months ago. Now he distributes free books to girls and women. – Is it illegal to hand out books on the street? – As I said, our officers thought he had organized a demonstration. That’s why we took him in for a conversation where we explained our rules to him. Accused of sedition A few hours after the arrest, the spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Information tweeted the following: – Professor Mashal, who has recently run a cunning campaign to incite people against the regime, had gathered a large crowd and press people around him in the street. They blocked the road. Security forces took him away for questioning, writes Abdul Haq Hammad. The top Taliban leader says he visited the professor at the police station. – He was well taken care of. He got to talk to his family. I urged him to stop sedition against our regime. He agreed, writes the Taliban spokesman. But now four days have passed since he was arrested, and the professor has still not been released. Taliban spokesmen have not responded to our inquiries about when Mashal will be released. Afghan women have protested loudly against the education and job ban of the Taliban. Photo: AFP When news interviewed the professor a few weeks ago, he criticized the Taliban for being obsessed with women. – The Taliban say that women should not be allowed to go to school or receive an education. It’s idiocy. They have made women the great enemy, rather than solving the problems Afghanistan is facing. Fighting for women The Taliban took power in Afghanistan 1.5 years ago. During that time they have closed schools for girls over the age of 12. Women are not allowed to get an education. They cannot choose what kind of jobs they want. They are prohibited from being in parks and going to the gym. And, they constantly get restrictions on where they can move in the country. The Taliban demand that even female mannequins be covered. Here from a dress shop in Kabul. Photo: Ebrahim Noroozi / AP Mashal’s female students are deeply frustrated and call him daily. – They say that they have suffered psychological problems from the injustice. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to go to school? What is their sin, they ask me, says the professor, who believes the Taliban’s war on women could have serious consequences for Afghan society. – If the Taliban do not open the doors to the universities for women, they might as well leave the prison gates wide open. Anarchy, misery and poverty will characterize a society without education.
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