The Taliban deployed a water cannon to disperse a group of women protesting the prohibition on female university enrollment in Afghanistan.

A social media video depicts women hiding in a lane in the city of Herat to avoid a stream of water.

Dozens of protesting ladies could be heard chanting slogans such as “Education is our right.”

In one film, women were heard yelling, “The Taliban are cowards!”

Abdel Rahman Habib, the spokesman for the ministry of economy, acknowledged that women are prohibited from working for national and international non-governmental organizations.

He stated that NGOs had been handed a letter imposing a ban “until further notice” and provided the rationale that women were not adhering to Sharia law about the wearing of the headscarf.

The Taliban’s restriction on female students entering higher education prompted an international outcry earlier this week.

According to the Taliban, women at the university were not wearing acceptable Islamic clothing and were mingling with men.

Higher Education Minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem enforced the new restriction with immediate effect on Tuesday, ordering both public and private universities to prohibit women from enrolling.

Mr. Nadeem stated that female pupils had been “dressed for a wedding.”

This week, the Taliban arrested five women participating in a rally in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Additionally, three journalists were arrested.

Wednesday, a day after the ban was issued, guards prevented hundreds of women from visiting institutions.

In Afghanistan, girls are already excluded from the majority of secondary institutions.

Twenty years after being expelled from power by a US-led military coalition, the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.