The European Union has 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 European Union says the Taliban's latest reported decision represented another appalling violation of fundamental human rights.

The Taliban has banned women from training as nurses and midwives in Afghanistan, striking another blow to female health and education.

Women in Afghanistan learning to become nurses and midwives have been told not to return to classes by the Taliban government.

Afghanistan: Health officials held a meeting in Kabul with the heads of educational institutions to communicate the directive banning health courses for women.

Women in Afghanistan have been banned from training to become midwives in the latest crackdown unveiled by the Taliban. Trainee midwifery students, who have been ordered to no longer attend classes, urged Taliban leaders to allow them to continue studying.