Kabul: The Taliban government in Afghanistan on Saturday ordered all foreign and domestic non-governmental groups to suspend employing women, the latest restrictive move by the country's new rulers against women's rights and freedoms.
The order came in a letter from Economy Minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif, which said that any NGO found not complying with the order will have their operating license revoked in Afghanistan.
The letter's content was confirmed to The Associated Press by the ministry spokesman, Abdul Rahman Habib.
The ministry said it had received "serious complaints" about female staff working for NGOs not wearing the "correct" headscarf, or hijab.
It was not immediately clear if the order applies to all women or only Afghan women working at the NGOs.
Also Saturday, Taliban security forces used a water cannon to disperse women protesting the ban on university education for women in the western city of Herat, eyewitnesses said.
The developments came after Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on Tuesday banned female students from attending universities effective immediately.
Afghan women have since demonstrated in major cities against the ban, a rare sign of domestic protest since the Taliban seized power last year. The decision has also caused outrage and opposition in Afghanistan and beyond.
According to eyewitnesses in Herat, about two dozen women were heading to the provincial governor's house Saturday to protest the ban, chanting: "Education is our right," when they were pushed back by security forces firing the water cannon.
Video shared with the AP shows the women screaming and hiding in a side street to escape the water cannon. They then resume their protest, with chants of "Disgraceful!"
One of the protest organisers, Maryam, said between 100 and 150 women took part in the protest, moving in small groups from different parts of the city toward a central meeting point. She did not give her last name for fear of reprisals. "There was security on every street, every square, armoured vehicles and armed men," she said.
"When we started our protest, in Tariqi Park, the Taliban took branches from the trees and beat us. But we continued our protest. They increased their security presence. Around 11 am they brought out the water cannon."
A spokesman for the provincial governor, Hamidullah Mutawakil, claimed there were only four-five protesters. "They had no agenda, they just came here to make a film," he said, without mentioning the violence against the women or the use of the water cannon.