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.

Female trainee midwives and nurses have reportedly been ordered not to attend classes by the Taliban, who have restricted Afghan women's rights. View on euronews

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.

Afghans living abroad are flocking back to visit relatives for the first time since the Taliban takeover. Draconian restrictions on women are not top of mind.

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.

Women training as midwives and nurses in Afghanistan have told the BBC they were ordered not to return to classes in the morning - effectively closing off their last route to further education in the country.

Afghanistan: Health officials held a meeting in Kabul with the heads of educational institutions to communicate the directive banning health courses for women.

In a major blow to women’s education in Afghanistan, the Taliban has barred female students from attending nursing and midwifery courses, following a directive from their supreme leader. This move affects over 35,

In a fresh series of restrictions on Afghan women, medical training, including for midwives and nurses, has reportedly been banned for women, female students told Afghanistan-bases news Khaama Press.