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.

This week the Taliban in Afghanistan closed one of the last remaining loopholes in their ban on education for older girls and women by forbidding them from attending institutions offering medical education.

Afghans living abroad are flocking back to visit relatives for the first time since the Taliban takeover. Draconian restrictions on women are not top of mind.

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