Women were on Tuesday banned from private and public universities in Afghanistan with immediate effect and until further notice, a Taliban government spokesman said in a letter issued to all government and private universities.
The decision was announced after a meeting of the Taliban government. This comes three months after thousands of girls and women sat for university entrance exams across Afghanistan.
“You all are informed to implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice,” said the letter signed by the minister for higher education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem.
After Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August last year, universities were forced to implement new rules including gender-segregated classrooms and entrances, and women were only permitted to be taught by female professors or old men.
Most Afghan teenage girls have already been banned from secondary school education, and the choice of university courses for women had also been limited.
Women have been pushed out of many government jobs – or are being paid a slashed salary to stay at home. They are also barred from travelling without a male relative.
In November women were also prohibited from going to parks, funfairs, gyms and public baths.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.