Markus Potzel is the first international official to meet Education Minister Nida Mohammad Nadim since the ban was imposed.

On December 20 the Afghan authorities ordered all public and private universities and colleges to close their doors to female students and staff indefinitely.

This sparked huge international criticism, as well as from a number of Muslim-majority countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

New crunch time

Nadim defended the ban and said it was necessary to prevent people of different sexes associating with each other in universities.

The Taliban followed up the order days later with a decree banning Afghan women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations – with the exception of, among other things, the United Nations. The ban also drew widespread condemnation from the international community. A number of major aid organizations have been forced to suspend their work in Afghanistan.

Potzel asked that both bans be lifted immediately when he met Nadim, said the UN office in Afghanistan UNAMA. According to the United Nations, Afghanistan is entering a new period of crisis.

– The Taliban’s ban on women in education and aid organizations will hurt Afghans, said UNAMA on Saturday.

It is currently unclear how Nadim will respond to Potzel’s request.

Met with several ministers

In the last few days, the UN special envoy also met with the Minister of Economy, Qari Din Mohammed Hanif, who issued a ban on female employees in non-governmental organizations.

Potzel also met with a number of other politicians to discuss limiting the rights of women and girls: Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and former President Hamid Karzai.

The meeting took place several days before a meeting that will be held behind closed doors at the UN Security Council in Afghanistan on January 13.

Human crisis

Education Minister Nadim is a cleric, former provincial governor, police chief and military officer. He had previously vowed to do away with secular education and was appointed minister in October by the supreme leader of the Taliban. Nadim claims female education is against Islamic and Afghan values.

The United Nations has also warned of dire consequences for the population if women are not allowed to provide assistance in a country where almost the entire population is dependent on outside aid.

UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths is due to visit Afghanistan in the near future to discuss the ban.

According to the United Nations, 97 percent of Afghanistan’s roughly 40 million people live below the poverty line. Nearly half of the country’s population is hungry and needs assistance to survive, and 3 million children are at risk of malnutrition.