Christmas travel rush hits airports, and everything women are talking about today.

Australians travelling interstate or overseas for Christmas can expect delays when they reach the airport, with millions passing through the gates this season.

It's the first Christmas without any restrictions since the pandemic and Aussies are taking advantage, with domestic travel bouncing back to more than 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Sydney Airport is expecting 2.2 million passengers during the peak holiday period of December 12 until New Year's Day, with 60 additional staff added to help corral the crowds and help priority passengers.

Melbourne Airport is registering roughly 100,000 passengers a day in the lead-up to Christmas, with December 24 and Christmas Day itself expected to be slightly quieter.

Thousands of Sydneysiders are hitting the roads and the sky for their annual Christmas break.

While the airport is bracing for its busiest festive season in three years, more than half of us are choosing to holiday at home. @sophie_walsh9 #9News pic.twitter.com/1oc1jfs3EO

— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) December 22, 2022

Passengers can expect delays when claiming their baggage, with a spokeswoman for the airport explaining staffing issues were affecting wait times.

"With fewer staff that just creates a challenge of unloading the planes and getting it to passengers quickly," she said. "But we've been working with all of the airlines and their ground handling companies and they've been working to build back up their staffing."

Sydney Airport continues to face criticism over staffing, with the United Workers Union saying subcontracted and inexperienced security guards are slowing screening.

The union says attendance bonuses for working over Christmas have been revoked and replaced with a single serve of plum pudding.

An airport spokeswoman said the issue should be worked through by the union and security company, Certis.

- With AAP.

Dozens of women have gathered outside Kabul University to protest following the Taliban's decision to ban them from attending university.

Female university students were turned away from campuses the previous day after the Taliban-run administration said on Tuesday that women would be suspended from tertiary education.

According to witnesses, about 50 mainly female protesters assembled while holding banners and chanted: "Education is our right, universities should be opened".

The previous day, students at Nangahar University in eastern Afghanistan also protested and male medical students walked out of exams to protest at their female classmates being excluded.

Vision has emerged of young women in Afghanistan reacting to the news that the Taliban would be enforcing a higher education ban for women.

Some began to protest the action by chanting outside institutions.

MORE: https://t.co/FuYIshxhWk#9News pic.twitter.com/AYIpFtgQJq

— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) December 22, 2022

The Taliban-led administration had already drawn criticism, including from foreign governments, for not opening girls' high schools at the start of the school year in March, making a U-turn on signals it would do so.

However, the minister of higher education in the Taliban government, Nida Mohammad Nadim, has defended his decision, saying the ban was necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities and because he believes some subjects being taught violated the principles of Islam. 

In an interview with Afghan television on Thursday, Nadim pushed back against the widespread international condemnation, including from Muslim-majority countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. Nadim said that foreigners should stop interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

The ban was in place until further notice.

- With AAP.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's insult about opposition MP David Seymour has been turned into a funding boost for a prostate cancer charity.

Ardern's comment came after Seymour, who leads the libertarian ACT party, peppered Ardern with questions about her government's record for about seven minutes during Question Time last week. 

After sitting down, Ardern, as an aside, said to her deputy "he's such an arrogant prick".

While her words were barely audible on Parliament TV, they were picked up in the background.

Ardern later sent an apologetic text to Seymour and the pair later agreed on a plan to make good, signing an official parliamentary transcript of Ardern's comments to auction for charity.

The auction - billed as "Ardern, Seymour join forces for pricks everywhere" - was held on the New Zealand website Trade Me and attracted more than 280 bids. It closed yesterday with a top bid of more than $NZ100,000 ($A94,000).

"Can't say I expected this," Ardern wrote on Facebook.

"A faux pas with the old mic in parliament has turned into $100,100 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

"My thanks to David for being a good sport and to everyone who placed a bid."

Prostate Cancer Foundation chief executive Peter Dickens thanked the politicians for their "classy" reaction.

"We've been overjoyed and amazed all the way through the journey of this auction," he said.

He said the money, equivalent to 10 per cent of the organisation's annual budget, would go to a range of services including free counselling and support groups.

- With AAP.

If you're someone who left their Christmas shopping to the last minute, we've got you sorted. 

So what can you grab last minute that shows you really do care? We speak to some of our favourite hosts and writers across Mamamia for their Christmas gift ideas. Ranging from AirPods, to restaurant vouchers, to skin care. 

We also hear from Mamamia's gift guide queen Charlotte Begg on what to buy for the woman who loves skincare, the work Secret Santa gift you forgot and some fan favourites that anyone would love.

Feature Image: AAP/Dave Rowland/Getty.