The Taliban are taking away women’s right to learn. The world can’t afford to stay silent | Gordon Brown

In Afghanistan, girls are being banned from primary school. Other Muslim nations hold the key to restoring their rights

• Gordon Brown is the United Nations special envoy for global education and the former UK prime minister

This week, the Taliban made a bombshell announcement that they will ban women from attending university or teaching in Afghanistan. It is a decision that has done more in a single day to entrench discrimination against women and girls and set back their empowerment than any other single policy decision I can remember.

Since the Taliban returned to power, girls have been banned from attending secondary school. Now they are being banned from primary school. Thousands of female government workers have been told to stay at home. Other recent rulings prevent women from travelling without a male relative or attending mosques or religious seminaries. Last month, girls and women were banned from entering public places, including parks.