Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s senior leader, has spoken out in support of women’s education rights, saying that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that they receive a safe education in the country.

Stanikzai said that women should be given their rights based on Afghan culture and Islamic values while speaking at a gathering to commemorate the death anniversary of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, a former Islamic Emirate leader, according to Tolo News.

“Women are not allowed to request their inheritance. They are denied the opportunity to receive an education. Where will women learn the lessons of Shariah? In Afghanistan, women make up half of the population “he said.

Stanikzai criticised the small budget for economic development and claimed that people were forced to leave the country due to economic difficulties.

“We don’t have a seat in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a seat in the United Nations, or a political office in Europe,” he said.

Another Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Yaqub, spoke at the same event and criticised the economic sanctions imposed on Afghanistan, according to Tolo News.

He claimed that “they imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan and plotted against us in Afghanistan.”

The Taliban’s decision to ban female students above grade six from going to school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels.

Women’s rights and freedoms have also been curtailed by the Taliban regime, which took over Kabul in August last year, with women largely excluded from the workforce due to the economic crisis and restrictions.