2.4 Million Afghan Girls Excluded From Secondary Education Since Taliban Return: UNESCO

Five years after the Taliban's return to power, a staggering 2.4 million Afghan girls are barred from secondary education, with nearly 4 million more at risk of being excluded by 2030 if current prohibitions persist, a new UNESCO report reveals. The UN agency denounced a "systematic violation" of fundamental rights and freedoms for women and girls in Afghanistan, the only country globally that formally prohibits female students beyond primary school.

Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO's coordinator for Education in Emergencies, emphasized the profound impact of this exclusion, stating, "Five years is not a temporary interruption in a child's education. It is practically an entire secondary cycle." The ban on higher education, imposed in December 2022, has already left over 100,000 young women unable to pursue university studies.

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Five years is not a temporary interruption in a child's education. It is practically an entire secondary cycle

Before the Taliban regained control in 2021, nearly a million girls were enrolled in secondary education. The current exclusion figure represents a significant increase, with 200,000 more girls barred than last year and a million more than estimated in 2024. UNESCO warns that this sustained denial of education threatens to condemn Afghanistan to decades of lost potential and deepened poverty. The cumulative loss of income is projected to reach $9.6 billion by 2066 if women are kept out of the workforce.

Beyond the direct impact on girls, the educational crisis has broader implications. UNESCO estimates a shortage of over 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030, exacerbated by educators leaving the country. "There are fewer and fewer girls who can study, fewer women who can become teachers and professionals, and little by little, the education system loses the human capital it needs to recover," Jaberian cautioned. The crisis extends to primary education, with over two million children out of school and a lack of basic facilities in many schools. Despite these challenges, UNESCO is supporting community-based literacy and training programs in 20 provinces, reaching nearly 70,000 participants, predominantly girls and women.

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There are fewer and fewer girls who can study, fewer women who can become teachers and professionals, and little by little, the education system loses the human capital it needs to recover