Taliban minister doubles down on banning women from universities for violating 'Islam and Afghan honor'

The Taliban-led government’s minister of higher education has responded to backlash for the country's decision to ban women in private and public universities.

"We told girls to have proper hijab but they didn’t and they wore dresses like they are going to a wedding ceremony," he said. "Girls were studying agriculture and engineering, but this didn't match Afghan culture. Girls should learn, but not in areas that go against Islam and Afghan honor." A classroom that previously was used for girls sits empty in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022.   (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) A classroom that previously was used for girls sits empty in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022.  (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Amanah Nashenas, 45-year-old an Afghan teacher, collects books in a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022.  (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Afghan schoolgirls pose for a photo in a classroom in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022.  (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - DECEMBER 22:  Afghan women protest against new Taliban ban on women accessing University Education on December 22, 2022, in Kabul, Afghanistan.  (Stringer/Getty Images) KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - DECEMBER 22:  A group of Afghan women rallied in Kabul against a governmental order banning women from universities on December 22, 2022, in Kabul, Afghanistan.  (Stringer/Getty Images) KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - DECEMBER 22: Armed guards barred women from accessing university sites since the suspension was announced on December 20, prompting protests. (Stringer/Getty Images) Male university Students attend class bifurcated by a curtain separating males and females at a  university in Kandahar Province on December 21, 2022.  (STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images) KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - DECEMBER 21: Afghan female students react against Taliban's university ban in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 21, 2022.  (Bilal Guler/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Protesters, many of them expatriate Afghans, gather in front of the Chancellery to protest against increasing persecution by the Taliban against the Hazara minority in Afghanistan on December 3, 2022, in Berlin, Germany.  (Omer Messinger/Getty Images) A member of the Taliban security forces stand guard at a checkpoint along a street in Jalalabad on December 6, 2022.  (AFP via Getty Images)

The ban included all women nationwide to stop attending private and public universities. It was issued effective immediately and until further notice.