Protests in Afghanistan as Taliban move to enforce university ban on women

The Taliban, earlier this week, ordered women in Afghanistan to stop attending private and public universities effective immediately and until further notice. They have banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most fields of employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms. (AP)

Journalists saw Taliban forces outside four Kabul universities on Wednesday. The forces stopped some women from entering, while allowing others to go in and finish their work. (AP)

Female university students were turned away from campuses on Wednesday and the higher education ministry said their access would be suspended "until further notice". The move prompted strong condemnation from foreign governments and criticism from some Afghans, sparking protests in Afghan cities. (AP)

Afghan women participate in a protest against the education ban, in Kabul, on Thursday. Dozens of women gathered outside Kabul University on Thursday to protest in the first major public demonstration in the capital since the decision. (AP/PTI)

Amanah Nashenas, 45-year-old an Afghan teacher, cries during an interview with Associated Press about the state of education, in a school in Kabul, on Thursday. Acting higher Education Minister Nida Mohammad Nadim, in his first comments on the matter, told Afghan state broadcaster RTA that several issues had prompted the decision, including female students not wearing appropriate Islamic attire and interaction between students of different genders taking place.(AP)

US-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of war as the Western-backed former government collapsed and the militants seized Kabul. Since the Taliban took over, students and professors say university classes have been separated by gender and female students have adjusted their attire to meet instructions. (AP)

Taliban's restrictions on female education has invited backlash from the global community and is complicating the Taliban-led administration's efforts to gain formal recognition and the lifting of sanctions that are hampering the economy, diplomats say. (AP)