Afghanistan government on Tuesday barred women from attending private and public universities, until further notice. The higher education minister announced the regression on Tuesday, saying it would take immediate effect. A letter, confirmed by a spokesperson for the higher education ministry on Tuesday, and signed by Minister for Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem instructed Afghan public and private universities to suspend access to female students immediately, in accordance with a Cabinet decision. “You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending the education of females until further notice.”
The ban further restricts women's education - girls have already been excluded from secondary schools since the Taliban returned last year.
Some women staged protests in the capital Kabul on Wednesday.
"Today we come out on the streets of Kabul to raise our voices against the closure of the girls' universities," protesters from the Afghanistan Women's Unity and Solidarity group said.
The small demonstrations were quickly shut down by Taliban officials.
The move sparked international condemnation and despair among young people in the country.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric described the move as “troubling”.
“It’s clearly another broken promise from the Taliban,” Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.
“We have seen since their takeover … a lessening of space for women, not only in education, but access to public areas,” he said.
“It’s another very troubling move and 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 their education.”
