The European Union (EU) on Monday, March 28, condemned the Taliban's decision to ban girls from receiving secondary education and believes that this lowers the movement's chances to gain the "desired" legitimacy, Sputnik reported as per an ANI report. 

On Wednesday, March 23, the Taliban regime issued a decree banning female students above Class VI from participating in their classes. The girls were further told to stay home until the Islamic Emirate announces its next decision.

"The European Union and its member states, together with international partners, have condemned the decision of the Taliban to deny until further notice secondary level education for over one million Afghan girls. This is a blatant violation of the fundamental right to education for all children, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and several international human rights instruments, of which Afghanistan is a state party," Sputnik quoted the EU Council statement.

The decision by the Islamic Emirate drew severe backlash from around the world with the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union issuing a joint statement on Friday, March 25, to condemn the Taliban's decision to deny so many Afghan girls the opportunity to finally go back to school.