Taliban continues to ban women in Afghanistan 4:22
(CNN) --
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) said Tuesday it was "deeply alarmed" by the Taliban government's ban on women attending university or working for aid groups in Afghanistan.
In moves widely condemned by the international community, the Islamist group last week ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to prevent their female employees from coming to work and suspended university education for all female students in the country.
In its statement on Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council expressed its "deep concern" and called for "the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan."
He also urged the Taliban to reverse their policies, "representing a growing erosion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The new restrictions mark another step in the Taliban's brutal crackdown on women's freedoms in Afghanistan, after the hardline Islamist group seized control of the country in August 2021.
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Taliban suspend university education for women in Afghanistan
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Although the Taliban repeatedly claimed they would protect the rights of girls and women, the group has done the opposite, stripping away the hard-won freedoms women have tirelessly fought for over the past two decades.
Some of the Taliban's most striking restrictions have been around education, with girls also banned from returning to secondary school in March.
The move devastated many students and their families, who described to CNN their dashed dreams of becoming a doctor, teacher or engineer.
At least half a dozen major foreign aid groups have said they will temporarily suspend operations in Afghanistan following a ban on NGOs working as employees.
The ban on NGOs would affect humanitarian operations in the country, including those of the UN, according to the UNSC statement.
Taliban order NGOs to ban women from going to work in Afghanistan
Afghans lose the right to go to university 5:08
"These restrictions contradict the commitments made by the Taliban to the Afghan people, as well as the expectations of the international community," the United Nations Security Council added.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter on Monday that the restrictions were "unjustifiable violations of human rights and must be revoked."
"Actions to exclude and silence women and girls continue to cause immense suffering and major setbacks to the potential of the Afghan people," she said.
-- CNN's Sophie Tanno, Chris Liakos, Ehsan Popalzai, Sahar Akbarzai, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.
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