A quarter of Afghanistan’s private universities risks closure because of the ban on female students imposed by the Taliban government, a spokesman for the sector said Thursday. Afghanistan’s rulers last week barred women from attending universities effective immediately, dealing another blow to women and girl’s rights and freedoms since they seized power in the country in August 2021. The move also triggered international condemnation and and an outcry at home. A minister for higher education in the Taliban government, Nida Mohammad Nadim, has defended the ban, saying it is necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities and because, according to him, some subjects violate Islamic and Afghan values.