Part of why women feel limited in their career choices has to do with a disconnect between aptitude and interest, along with lingering stereotypes about what industries they are "expected" to enter after high school, the report suggests.

She will serve as a professor of practice at the School of International and Public Affairs and as a presidential fellow at Columbia World Projects, according to a statement from Columbia U. President Lee Bollinger.

"The United States condemns the Taliban's indefensible decision to prevent Afghan women from receiving a university-level education," National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the student's father said he felt there was not an urgent enough response from the French authorities.