12/21/2022. The Taliban announced yesterday that women will be banned from all universities in Afghanistan effective immediately.

The decision was announced after a government meeting and comes months after universities introduced gender-segregated classrooms and placed restrictions on the subjects that women could study. In a letter, the country’s spokesman for the Ministry of Higher Education, Ziaullah Hashmi, told private and public universities to implement the ban as soon as possible.

The Taliban returned to power in 2021 following the reckless withdrawal of U.S. troops, which were in place in the country for 20 years. Over the last 16 months, the Taliban have issued more than 16 decrees that banned girls from middle school and high school, constrained women’s mobility, removed women from places of work, required head-to-toe coverings, and banned women from using public spaces such as parks and gyms.

These policies make clear the Taliban’s disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls of Afghanistan.

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