Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi have voiced strong opposition to the Taliban's closure of medical courses for women, calling it a betrayal of women's rights and Afghanistan's future, urging the regime to reconsider its stance.

The Taliban has banned women from training as nurses and midwives in Afghanistan, striking another blow to female health and education. The ban was announced on Monday during a meeting in Kabul by officials from the ministry of public health,

The European Union has condemned the Taliban for violating human rights and women’s access to education after media reports that the Taliban’s leader has ordered private and public institutions to stop providing medical courses for women and girls in

Afghanistan’s health ministry recently held a meeting in Kabul with heads of educational institutions to communicate a directive banning women from studying nursing and midwifery. While no formal announcement has been made, the decision is reportedly based on an edict from the Taliban’s supreme leader, according to multiple institutional sources.

The UN has raised concerns over a potential Taliban ban on women attending medical training facilities, saying it would threaten women's access to healthcare.

This week the Taliban in Afghanistan closed one of the last remaining loopholes in their ban on education for older girls and women by forbidding them from attending institutions offering medical education.

They were reacting to reports that the Taliban had closed down institutes for women training as nurses and midwives

Several sources confirm the Taliban pronouncement, part of ongoing efforts to curtail education for girls and women. Women studying these subjects say they were barred from classes this week.

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are reported to have banned medical schools from admitting female students, removing the last remaining opportunity for women to pursue higher education. The decree issued by the reclusive Taliban leader,