The Taliban have arrested five women taking part in a protest in the Afghan capital, Kabul, against the ban on women attending universities.
Three journalists were also arrested. Protests are also understood to have taken place in the Takhar province.
Guards stopped hundreds of women from entering universities on Wednesday – a day after the ban was announced.
It is the latest policy restricting women’s education since the Taliban returned to power last year.
Girls have already been excluded from most secondary schools.
The new ban was implemented with immediate effect by the higher education minister on Tuesday, with public and private universities ordered to bar women from attending.
Later, the Taliban minister of higher education said women were banned from university for not following the dress code.
Footage shared on social media on Thursday showed about two dozen Afghan women dressed in hijabs marching through the streets of Kabul, raising banners and shouting slogans.
The group had initially planned to gather in front of Kabul University, the country’s largest and most prestigious educational institution, but changed location after the authorities deployed a large number of security personnel there.
