Taliban’s New Assault on Higher Education in Afghanistan aimed Indoctrination.
In late September 2025, the Taliban introduced a new set of restrictions targeting higher education institutions (HEIs) across Afghanistan. These measures further extend the regime’s ideological control over academic life and reflect a broader attempt to enforce conformity with its interpretation of the Law on Vice and Virtue.
Images and Signs: The Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) has officially banned the display of images of living beings, as well as signs deemed inconsistent with Taliban policies, within HEIs.
Smartphone Use: Both students and faculty are prohibited from using smartphones on campus, a move justified by officials as a way to prevent “un-Islamic” practices.
Internet Restrictions The Taliban has cut off internet access in several provinces, severely disrupting academic communication and learning. Authorities have indicated their intent to expand surveillance of online activities, including attempts to monitor even basic messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.
Expanding Censorship of Books: Books authored by women have reportedly been banned from university classrooms and libraries. Earlier in mid-September, the MoHE also prohibited more than 650 books previously taught or cited in universities, directing institutions to replace them with materials aligned with Taliban policies. These bans extend to key scholarly theories, most notably Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Oversight by the Ministry of Vice and Virtue: According to MoHE directives, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue has been granted supervisory authority to oversee implementation of these rules within higher education. This expands religious oversight directly into universities and solidifies the regime’s control over academic and intellectual spaces.
These bans were announced in the days leading up to and during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a moment when many countries—including regional and Muslim-majority states—were calling on the Taliban to lift restrictions on education, rights, and liberties. The timing indicates that the Taliban’s actions were not coincidental but rather a calculated signal of defiance, projecting a deliberate disregard for international appeals and reinforcing their uncompromising stance on domestic control.