UPDATE 2 - Taliban ban on higher education for young women 'not humanistic': Türkiye

ADDS REMARKS FROM YEMENI FOREIGN MINISTER

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye rejects and is “saddened” by the new ban on higher education for young women in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

"This prohibition is neither Islamic nor humanistic. We reject such a ban," Cavusoglu said at a news conference with his Yemeni counterpart Ahmed Awad BinMubarak in the capital Ankara.

Cavusoglu's remarks came after the Taliban-run Higher Education Ministry on Tuesday issued a decision to ban young women from university education until further notice.

Afghanistan's ban on female students truly upsets Türkiye and is a "serious concern,” Cavusoglu said, calling on the Taliban to reverse its decision.

"What harm does women's education do to Afghanistan, and what is the benefit of this ban? ... Our religion Islam is not against education, on the contrary, it supports education.

"We expect the Taliban to abandon this decision. Türkiye will continue to provide education and scholarships to our Afghan sisters," Cavusoglu added.

- Türkiye's strong support for Yemen

Turning to Yemen, Cavusoglu said Türkiye strongly supports Yemen's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political integrity.

"The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has reached a serious point. More than half of Yemeni people are facing a food crisis. We continue to stand by Yemen in these troubled days. In Türkiye we ground 37,000 grains from Ukraine into flour and sent them to Yemen," he added.

Yemen slipped into a deadly civil war in 2014 when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia entered the war in early 2015 to restore the government to power.

The eight-year conflict in Yemen has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions risking starvation.

"We also emphasized the importance of returning to the cease-fire in Yemen. We will continue to contribute on every platform for the unity and peace of Yemen. Innocent people are the most affected by the war," said Cavusoglu.

- 'New perspective' on Yemen needed

BinMubarak, for his part, thanked Türkiye for its support to the Yemeni people amid the ongoing civil war.

He said that the Yemeni government has done its part to reach a cease-fire in the country.

"Looking at what is happening in Yemen from a humanitarian perspective only will not solve the problem,” he said. “We call on the international community to deal with the crisis from a new perspective."

"The Houthis were never ready for peace negotiations and even obstructed them," he stressed.

He said he discussed with Cavusoglu "in particular the terrorist attacks of the Houthi militia since Oct. 17, and efforts to restore peace to Yemen."

BinMubarakat added that his country always calls for Houthis to be added to terrorist lists and asks Türkiye to take a tougher stance on this at the international level.

He expressed his country's support for all of Türkiye’s efforts to defend its stability and national security.

"We reached a consensus on the situation and events in Yemen. Iran adopts a very negative point of view and position. Despite our making all kinds of concessions regarding the cease-fire and peace, the agreements did not last," he added.

*Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara contributed to this report