The Taliban authorities on Tuesday ordered a nationwide ban on university education for females, as the hardline Islamists continue to crush Afghan women's right to education and freedom.

• The spokesman for the ministry, Ziaullah Hashimi, who tweeted the letter, confirmed the order in a text message to AFP.
• Despite promising a softer rule when they seized power last year, the Taliban have ratcheted up restrictions on all aspects of women's lives, ignoring international outrage.
• The ban on higher education comes less than three months after thousands of girls and women sat university entrance exams across the country, with many aspiring to choose teaching and medicine as future careers.