The U.N. Security Council said Friday it was deeply concerned about the recent decision by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to ban women from medical education, which could leave millions of women and girls without health care in the future.

The U.S. government condemned the Taliban on Wednesday for reportedly ordering the suspension of medical education for women and girls in Afghanistan.

From her private hospital in Afghanistan's capital, doctor Najmussama Shefajo predicts a rise in maternal mortality rates "within three or four years", following the latest restrictions on women's education.

The United Nations warned Thursday that the Taliban's decision to prohibit female students from pursuing medical training is expected to worsen Afghanistan's already dire humanitarian crisis, which the U.