The latest indication that Afghanistan’s hardline Taliban authorities are eager to crush any dissent to their prohibition on girls and women attending school or universities is the detention of a prominent advocate for girls’ education.
For more than ten years, Matiullah Wesa, the founder and executive director of the Pen Way organisation, advocated for the education of Afghan children who were not in school, both boys and girls, with an emphasis on rural southern Afghanistan.
Leading diplomatic and human rights organisations, including as Amnesty International and a senior UN representative, demanded his immediate release.
He had the option of leaving Afghanistan, but chose to stay in order to defend the rights of his people and promote girls’ education, according to Samira Hamidi, a South Asia advocate for Amnesty International.
According to his brother, Attaullah Wesa, who spoke to the Guardian, Matiullah was detained after attending prayers at his neighbourhood mosque on Friday. He came out, and two cars full of armed guys rushed to take him into custody.
He added that the family was very worried for Matiullah’s safety. “Our elder brother was with Matiullah and they tried to question the men, asked them to show ID, but they showed him their weapons instead and took him away,” he said.
In 2009, Wesa founded Pen Path with his brother. At first, they established schools in communities without government schooling, deployed mobile classrooms to the farthest reaches of the country, and collaborated with religious experts and tribal elders to develop community support for teaching all children.
He spearheaded high-profile calls for classes to resume after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan and banned female students from high school, then from primary school and university. He shared images and videos of protests, which were typically held in private structures following harsh crackdowns on public demonstrations.
His speech was centred on the need for girls’ schools and the Islamic law’s guarantee of their access to an education.
