A university professor in Afghanistan who is an outspoken critic of the Taliban’s ban on education for women and girls has been arrested in Kabul. Prof Ismail Mashal was detained on Thursday while handing out free books. He rose to prominence after he tore up his academic records live on television in protest against the Taliban’s ban on university and secondary school education for women and girls. Prof Mashal, 37, has been accused of “provocative actions” by the Taliban. He is accused of trying to harm the Taliban’s government by inviting journalists to crowd on a main road and create “chaos”, Abdul Haq Hammad, a Taliban official from the Ministry of Information and Culture wrote on Twitter. Eyewitnesses reported that the professor was slapped, punched and kicked by Taliban security forces during the arrest, however Abdul Haq Hammad said the professor was being treated well while in custody.(BBC)…[+]