The United States and Britain have condemned an order issued on December 20 by the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan banning university education for women nationwide.
U.S. and British envoys to the United Nations in New York condemned the move -- the latest edict limiting the rights and freedoms of women -- during a Security Council meeting to discuss Afghanistan.
"The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all Afghans, especially the human rights and fundamental freedom of women and girls," U.S. Deputy UN Ambassador Robert Wood said.
British UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the suspension was "another egregious curtailment of women's rights and a deep and profound disappointment for every single female student."
"It is also another step by the Taliban away from a self-reliant and prosperous Afghanistan," she told the council.
UN 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 U.S. State Department also condemned the move and said there would be significant consequences.
"The Taliban should expect that this decision, which is in contravention to the commitments they have made repeatedly and publicly to their own people, will carry concrete costs for them," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington.
"They have seriously -- possibly even fatally -- undermined one of their deepest ambitions...and that is an improvement and betterment of relations with the United States and the rest of the world," Price said.
Price also commented on the release on December 20 of two Americans who have been held in detention in Afghanistan, saying it was an apparent "goodwill gesture on the part of the Taliban" and not part of a prisoners swap or linked to a payment.
Since seizing control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have widely implemented a strict interpretation of Shari'a law. They have banned girls from attending school past the sixth grade, restricted women from holding most jobs, and ordered them to cover head-to-toe when in public. Women are also banned from entering parks and gyms.
The notification on women attending university was signed by the minister for higher education, Neda Mohammad Nadim.
"You all are informed to immediately implement the mentioned order of suspending education of females until further notice," said the letter, which was issued to all government and private universities.
The notification was directed at all agencies, including public and private educational institutes and universities, and it instructed them to inform the ministry about developments related to the ban.
The Taliban’s adherence to an austere version of Islam is at odds with many officials in Kabul and many Afghans who hoped girls would be able to continue learning following the takeover.
The international community has made the right to education for all women a sticking point in negotiations over aid and international recognition of the Taliban regime.