UNESCO: 2.4 Million Afghan Girls Barred from Secondary Education

Approximately 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, according to a report from UNESCO released on Tuesday. This figure has increased by 200,000 since last year and could rise to nearly four million by 2030 if the ban remains in place. Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education. Secondary schools were closed to girls in March 2022, and universities were closed to women in December of that year.

The Taliban administration justifies these policies based on their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture, insisting the matter is domestic. However, the UN has characterized the broader system of restrictions as gender apartheid. Beyond education, women face limits on employment and movement, and are barred from beauty salons, gyms, and public parks. Russia is the only country to formally recognize the Taliban administration.

UNESCO warns that these restrictions reverse two decades of progress. In 2001, girls had very limited access to schooling, but by 2021, nearly one million were enrolled in secondary education. The economic impact is expected to be severe: UNESCO estimates that the ban could push 600,000 women out of the workforce by 2066, resulting in cumulative income losses of 9.6 billion US dollars. There is also an increased risk of early marriage for girls.

The wider education system is in crisis. More than 90 percent of 10 year olds cannot read a simple text, and the national literacy rate is 37 percent. Over two million primary school children are out of school for various reasons. Infrastructure is poor, with nearly half of schools lacking heating, sanitation, or water. The system is further strained by natural disasters, which have closed 1,000 schools since 2021, and the return of over seven million people to the country since 2023.

There is a critical shortage of female teachers, with a projected deficit of more than 11,000 qualified educators by 2030. This is attributed to teachers leaving the country and a ban on women teaching boys, which has left some students with unqualified male teachers or no teachers at all. UNESCO continues to support community based education and literacy programs, though it notes these cannot replace formal schooling.