UN says the Taliban have further increased restrictions on Afghan women and girls

By RAHIM FAIEZ
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.N. says Taliban authorities have further increased restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan in recent months. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan says in a report that the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health has announced that only males will be allowed to take exams to pursue specialized medical studies. That follows a ban on female medical students taking graduation exams announced in February and a prohibition on women attending universities issued last December. The report says two NGOs had their licenses suspended because they had Afghan female employees, and a midwife working for another NGO was threatened with death if she continued her work.