Girls’ schooling and the ‘Quran’
Chris Henderson (“Talking with the Taliban,” February 19) is wrong to imply that girls are not being educated in Afghanistan under the Taliban because of “Koranic edict”. The Quran (preferred spelling for our holy book) makes no distinction between men and women in recommending the pursuit of education and acquisition of knowledge.
However, for centuries, some verses have been misrepre-sented by-patriarchal and literal interpretation, by men seeking to promote cultural male supremacy. As always, the distinction needs to be made between culture and religion.
Furthermore, inadequate translation of Arabic words and phrases does not help. The Quran uses the word “insaan”, which means either a man or a woman, whereas most translations into English render it as “man”. Similarly, the phrase “olul albaab” includes men and women, but most translations say “men of understanding”.
Throughout Islamic history, many Muslim women were involved in the founding of educational institutions. Most notable was Fatima al-Fihri, who established Al Qarawi-yyin in Morocco in 859 CE. It remains, according to Unesco and others, the world’s oldest extant university.
“Acquisition of knowledge is binding on all Muslims, male and female,” the prophet Muhammad said. So, to claim that the has put girls and
