Taliban detains Afghanistan professor who protested ban on women's education

Ismail Mashal was detained on Thursday while handing out free books, reports BBC.

Mashal, 37, has been accused of "provocative actions" by the Taliban, reports the British media.

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 as quoted by BBC.

Eyewitnesses told the British media 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.

Mashal used to run a private university in Kabul.

The institute had 450 women students.

When the Taliban announced in December that female university students would no longer be allowed back to study until further notice, Mashal closed his school completely, saying "education is either offered to all, or no one", reports BBC.

He promised not to remain silent on the issue.

He had received many threats since then.

"The only power I have is my pen, even if they kill me, even if they tear me to pieces, I won't stay silent now," Mashal told the BBC last month.