CNN –
A group of women took to the streets in the Afghan city of Herat on Saturday to protest a Taliban order suspending all female students from attending university in the country this week.
Video footage circulating on social media showed Taliban officials using a water cannon to disperse the protesters.
Girls could be seen running from the water cannon and chanting “cowards” at the officials.
The Taliban’s announcement this week of the suspension of university education for female students was its latest step in an ongoing crackdown on the freedoms of Afghan women.
The move came despite the group promising when it returned to power last year to respect women’s rights.
It follows a similar move in March this year that banned girls from returning to secondary school.
Male students at universities across the country have responded to the latest educational ban by boycotting their exams in protest.
“Education is the duty of men and women,” read a statement from Kandahar’s Mirwais Nika Institute of Higher Education issued on Saturday. “It is the fundamental right and the secret of the country’s development and self-sufficiency.”
Students had first asked Taliban officials to reverse the ban, but “no positive response was given,” the school said, adding that “dissatisfaction and unhappiness” fueled the boycott.
A university official told CNN that the students’ decision to boycott their entrance exams would lead to the suspension of classes.
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 in a sweeping takeover following the withdrawal of US troops, having ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, when the invasion led by the US forced the group to leave power.
Under its previous rule, the group was known for its treatment of women as second-class citizens.
After taking power last year, the group made numerous promises to protect the rights of women and girls.
But activists say the Taliban have reneged on their word and are steadily cracking down on women’s freedoms once again.
On Saturday, the group ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country to prevent female employees from attending work. Failure to comply would result in the NGOs’ licenses being revoked, according to an official notice from the ministry.
A spokesperson told CNN that the move was due to non-observance of Islamic dress codes and other laws and regulations of the Islamic Emirate.
Afghan women can no longer work in most sectors.
Their travel rights have also been severely restricted and access to public spaces has been significantly reduced. Women must also cover themselves completely in public, including their faces.