The European Union on Wednesday 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.

Countless Afghan women were seen sobbing as a man read out a Taliban decree banning them from medical care and training in a viral video on social media. The caption highlighted the militant movement’s most recent rule and said these decrees “effectively prohibit women from receiving any type of medical care since there will be no female health workers to treat them.