Pressure on Shia students in Herat; Taliban make “religious pledge” mandatory.

Pressure on Shia students in Herat; Taliban make “religious pledge” mandatory.

Kabul Times News | 2026-05-19
Report; Tabassum Aslamyar

Herat – A number of Shia students in Herat province say that officials under the Taliban regime have forced them to sign a pledge that emphasizes adherence to the Hanafi school of thought, and that opposing it has been accompanied by threats, pressure, and even physical assault.

According to the students, the text of the pledge states that “the people of Afghanistan are followers of the Sunni school of thought” and that students must follow the Hanafi school of thought in order to “maintain unity.” They call this an attempt to impose religious beliefs and limit religious freedoms.

Some students, who did not want to be named, told Kabul Times News that when they protested against the provisions of the pledge, they were threatened with expulsion from the university and harsh treatment from officials. According to them, in some cases, even physical assault has taken place.

The students stress that such measures have not only transformed the educational environment into a security and tense environment, but have also raised widespread concerns about increasing religious pressures against the Shia minority in Afghanistan.

This is not the first case of religious restrictions being imposed on educational institutions in Herat. Earlier, there were reports that a private university in the province forced students to sign a 14-point pledge, a pledge that critics described as a clear interference in the students’ beliefs and privacy.

So far, Taliban officials in Herat have not officially reacted to these reports. But human rights activists warn that the continuation of such policies could deepen religious and social divisions in Afghanistan.

Education and human rights experts also emphasize that forcing students to accept or follow a particular religion is contrary to the principles of freedom of belief and the right to equal education, rights that are also emphasized in international documents.