Taliban bar Afghan women from university education

Kabul: The Taliban’s higher education ministry has imposed an indefinite ban on university education for women in Afghanistan in the latest edict cracking down on women's rights and freedoms. 

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers Tuesday banned female students from attending universities, drawing strong international condemnation.

They have banned girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. 

Females are also banned from parks and gyms. 

"Based on cabinet decision…education for women is suspended until further notice," reads the statement tweeted by ministry spokesman Hafiz Hashimi. 

A letter shared by Hashimi told private and public universities to implement the ban as soon as possible and to inform the ministry once the ban is in place.

مهمه خبرتيا!! pic.twitter.com/9EwiUOkipN

— حافظ ضياءالله هاشمي (@HafizZeiya) December 20, 2022

In the meantime, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the decision, calling it another “broken promise” from the Taliban and a “very troubling” move. 

"It’s difficult to imagine how a country can develop, can deal with all of the challenges that it has, without the active participation of women and the education,” Guterres said.

The Taliban came to power last year and immediately deprived women of their fundamental rights by banning secondary education for grades six and above. However, women were allowed to attend universities in a gender-segregated class.