Habibullah Agha
{{Short description|Afghan politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Habibullah Agha
{{nq|حبیب الله آغا}}
| native_name =
| office = Minister of Education
| term_start = 21 September 2022
| deputy =
| 1blankname = Supreme Leader
| 1namedata = Hibatullah Akhundzada
| primeminister = Mohammad Hassan Akhund (acting)
| predecessor = Noorullah Munir
| birth_date = 1954 or 1955
| birth_place = Vach Bakhto, Shah Wali Kot, Kandahar, Kingdom of Afghanistan{{cite report|last=Sohail|first=Ajmal|date=October 2022|title=Taliban: Structure, Strategy,Agenda, and the International Terrorism Threat|url=https://eeradicalization.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Taliban-Report-by-Ajmal-Souhail-final.pdf|page=26|access-date=12 February 2023|archive-date=22 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522010847/https://eeradicalization.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Taliban-Report-by-Ajmal-Souhail-final.pdf|url-status=dead}}
| occupation = Politician, cleric, member of Taliban
| party = {{Flagicon image|Flag of Taliban.svg}} Taliban
| termend =
| succeeded =
}}
Sheikh Hadith Maulvi Habibullah Agha Sab ({{langx|ps|{{nq|حبیب الله اغا}}}}) is a Minister of Education of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. He is part of the Taliban's hardliner group and Hibatullah Akhundzada loyalist.{{cite web |agency=AFP|title=Afghanistan: Taliban appoints hardline education minister in further blow to female education |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-appoints-hardline-education-minister |website=newarab.com |publisher=AFP |access-date=12 February 2023}}
Early life
Habibullah Agha was born in Vach Bakhto, Shah Wali Kot, Kandahar in 1954 or 1955. He received basic Islamic education in his village. Agha continued his higher Islamic education in Pakistan.
Career
Under the first Taliban government (1996-2001), Agha was a judge.{{Cite web|url=http://www.afghan-bios.info/index.php?option=com_afghanbios&id=5293&task=view&total=1095&start=68&Itemid=2|title=Agha, Habibullah Maulvi|website=.afghan-bios.info}} He also became Mullah Omar special adviser and the Taliban's spiritual leader.
On 21 September 2022, Hibatullah Akhundzada appointed Agha as the minister of education.{{cite web |last1=Bakhtar News Agency |first1=Bakhtar News Agency|title=IEA Appoints 13 Officials in Various Positions|url=https://bakhtarnews.af/en/iea-appoints-13-officials-in-various-positions/|website=bakhtarnews.af|publisher=Bakhtar News Agency|access-date=12 February 2023}} His appointment is considered a setback for women's education progress. He started to work as a minister of education on 26 September 2022.{{cite web |last1=Bakhtar News |first1=Bakhtar News |title=New Appointed Minister for Ministry of Education Started Working |url=https://bakhtarnews.af/en/new-appointed-minister-for-ministry-of-education-started-working/ |website=bakhtarnews.af |publisher=Bakhtar News Agency |access-date=12 February 2023}} On 22 December 2022, he issued a temporary ban for girl school and educational courses above six grades.{{cite web |last1=Fakhri |first1=Kreshma |title=Taliban also ban girls from private educational centres |url=https://zantimes.com/2022/12/22/taliban-also-ban-girls-from-private-educational-centres/ |website=zantimes |publisher=Zan Times |access-date=12 February 2023}}
Views
Agha is against open criticism of the Taliban government officials. He suggested that criticism should be said in the government office.{{Cite tweet|user=AfghanAnalyst2|number=1572497977004134401|title=#Taliban's new Minister of Education Mawlawi Habibullah Agha: "Open #criticism of the Islamic Emirate of AFG's officials, is forbidden. If they have any problem, you are not allowed to criticise them openly. You should report to/register your criticism with, related IEA offices."}}
International Sanctions
On 20 July 2023, Habibullah Agha was sanctioned by the European Union as a government official personally responsible for gross human rights violations in Afghanistan by introducing a policy of denying access to secondary education for girls, thus preventing them from exercising their right to education and not to be subjected to discrimination on grounds of gender and further excluding women form Afghanistan's society.{{Cite web |title=L 183 I |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2023:183I:FULL |website=Official Journal of the European Union}}
References
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Category:People from Kandahar Province
Category:Taliban government ministers of Afghanistan
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
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