Witnesses in the Afghan capital, Kabul, saw students crying and hugging each other at the gates of several higher education institutions, including the historic Kabul public university, in the morning after being told they were not allowed to attend class."I came to know about the ban only this morning when I reached the campus and there was a large number of Taliban forces at the entrance turning away female students," a final-year student told VOA requesting anonymity for security reasons and with tears in her eyes.A private university student who identified herself as Fatima, told VOA they were due to take their final year exams but were prevented from entering the campus.The Taliban's repressive edicts have resulted in inexcusable restrictions on Afghan women and girls, including on their access to schools," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday.The recent revival of public floggings and executions of convicts stemmed from a directive Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued last month to the Taliban judiciary to begin applying Sharia Islamic law to criminal justice."