Inequality of women is a tribal, not an Islamic, belief

 One of the sticking points in the acceptance by the outside world of the Taliban administration in Afghanistan is the movement's attitude to women and, in particular, the education of girls. It is difficult for a Westerner to search the various translations and I must admit I have given up trying to find any passage in the Qur'an dealing with education, let alone women's education. Therefore it is gratifying to find in the various authoritative commentaries on the Web that there is no proscription of acquiring knowledge in Islam's foundation text. The prophet Muhammad was indeed, for his time, a feminist as this article stresses.

In Surah 33, the following appears (I am using the translation in Safi Kaskas and David Hungerford's The Qur'an with References to the Bible):

The men and women who have submitted to God, the believing men and women, the obedient men and women, the truthful men and women, the patient men and women, the humble men and women, the charitable men and women, the fasting men and women, the men and women who guard their private parts, and the men and women who remember God often, for them, God has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.

But Islamic teaching depends also on the Hadith, the sayings of the prophet. As I understand it, there is not one completely undisputed collection of these, but one key passage seems to be generally accepted: "Acquisition of knowledge is binding on all Muslims, male and female."

Therefore, the negotiators from the US and later the EU in recent talks with the Taliban had a strong card to play in their quest to maintain the women's rights achieved since the previous Taliban administration.