Family fears for outspoken professor in Taliban custody
Ismail Mashal’s family member remarked, “His kids have been crying; they miss him.” They frequently approach the gate and inquire as to why he hasn’t returned.
On February 2, the Taliban leadership detained Professor Mashal, a university lecturer and prominent advocate for women’s education in Afghanistan.
His family still has no idea where he is more than ten days later.
“Since he was seized, we have not spoken to him. We are quite concerned “The family member informed the BBC.
To learn more about him and learn what condition he is in, we have been knocking on every door of the administration that we can locate. But nobody speaks up.”
When Prof. Mashal was handing out free books in Kabul’s Dehbori neighbourhood, close to the higher education ministry, he was detained.
A homemade tree was stuck to his handcart, which was pulling the books. A line written in Dari was painted on the highest branch and read: “Islam has guaranteed equal access to education for both sexes.
You have a master’s degree, so why can’t I go to seventh grade, my daughter said. Ismail Mashal had stated, “I had no response,” in a January interview with the BBC.
“I tore those papers up because I felt guilty about retaining them while she can’t go to school. They were authentic certificates for which I had fought for 18 arduous years.
If the Taliban did not permit women to enrol in schools by the start of the new academic year in March, he continued, he wanted men to take their daughters to school or the university and “sit outside on the road.”
Even if there are no teachings, just sit outside instead of protesting or congregating.
