Taliban minister defends closing universities to women as global backlash grows

Nida Mohammad Nadeem says ban was necessary to prevent mixing of genders as rare protests break out

The minister of higher education in Afghanistan's Taliban government has defended his decision to ban women from universities - a decree that triggered a global backlash and protests inside the country.

Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration announced earlier this week it had closed universities to women partly due to female students not adhering to its interpretation of the Islamic dress code and interaction between students of different genders.