The European Union on Thursday 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.

The Taliban have neither confirmed the order nor responded to the media reports. The Public Health Ministry spokesman was unavailable for comment.

In September 2021, a month after they returned to power, the Taliban stopped schooling for girls after grade six. They banned women from university in December 2022.

Medical education, like nursing and midwifery, was one of the few ways they could continue their learning in classrooms.

The BBC and others reported that five institutions across Afghanistan said the Taliban had instructed them to close until further notice, and women training as midwives and nurses were ordered not to return to classes Wednesday.

The EU said the Taliban’s latest reported decision represented another appalling violation of fundamental human rights and an unjustifiable attack on women’s access to education in Afghanistan.

“The European Union expresses its strong concerns over this decision and its far-reaching implication, including the deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the exacerbation of the suffering of its people,” the statement said.

It urged the Taliban to reverse the policy.