UN chief alarmed by Taliban banning women from universities

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was alarmed by reports that the Afghan Taliban have banned women and girls from attending universities, said his spokesman on Tuesday.

"The secretary-general is deeply alarmed by news reports that the Taliban have suspended access to universities to women and girls. The secretary-general reiterates that the denial of education not only violates the equal rights of women and girls, but will have a devastating impact on the country's future," said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement.

Guterres urges the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to ensure equal access to education at all levels for women and girls, said the statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, said she was saddened by the news.

"I am very saddened by the news that was widely reported this morning that the Taliban Minister of Higher Education has banned women from attending universities. This is detrimental for women but also for Afghanistan more widely," she said in a statement. "As I said earlier, this decision, if true, is devastating."

The news of the ban broke while Otunbayeva was in New York to brief the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan. She said the United Nations is seeking further information and clarifications about this news.