Taliban prevents scores of Afghan women from studying abroad, scholarship group says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The chairman of a group that has offered scholarships to female Afghan students to study abroad says the Taliban have prevented scores of women from traveling to the United Arab Emirates for education. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, chairman of the Al Habtoor group, says he is unable to express the disappointment he feels and asked for people’s help. The Taliban seized the country in August 2021 while U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their withdrawal from Afghanistan after two decades of war. They promised a more moderate rule than during their previous period in power in the 1990s but have imposed harsh measures barring women from most areas of public life and work.