The Taliban’s higher education ministry has ordered an indefinite ban on university education for women in Afghanistan in the latest edict cracking down on women’s rights and freedoms, drawing strong international condemnation.
The announcement came as the United Nations Security Council met in New York and the US State Department announced the release of two Americans detained by the Taliban. Despite initially promising a more moderate rule respecting rights for women and minorities, the Taliban have widely implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law since seizing control of the country last year.
They banned girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most employment, and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public.
Women were also banned from parks and gyms and prevented from travelling without a male relative.
A letter, confirmed by a spokesperson for the higher education ministry, instructed Afghan public and private universities to suspend access to female students immediately, in accordance with a Cabinet decision.
