Five years after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, an estimated 2.4 million girls remain excluded from secondary education, effectively erasing decades of progress, according to a new report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Afghanistan is now the sole country globally to formally prohibit girls and women from pursuing education beyond the primary level. UNESCO issued a call for the "immediate and unconditional" reinstatement of their right to education. The agency warned that the Taliban's policies extend beyond the classroom, with women barred from most paid employment and public-facing roles, and facing restrictions on their movement without a male guardian.
"Women have been erased from public life, and as a new generation of girls grows without an education, their future becomes increasingly dark," UNESCO stated. The Taliban returned to power on August 15, 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country. Shortly thereafter, the group began barring girls from secondary schools, later expanding these restrictions to universities, employment, and other spheres of public life.
Despite sustained pressure from international bodies, humanitarian groups, human rights advocates, and several Islamic nations, the Taliban has maintained that the education restrictions are a domestic matter and has refused to lift them. This stance has led to a stark reversal of educational gains made by Afghan girls in the two decades prior to the Taliban's return. By 2021, nearly one million girls were enrolled in secondary education, a figure that has now dropped significantly.
UNESCO highlighted that the denial of education to girls, coupled with restrictions on women's employment, exacerbates Afghanistan's already severe economic challenges. Approximately half of the country's population lives below the poverty line, and preventing women from studying and working further limits their capacity to support families and contribute to the national economy. The agency also cautioned that excluding girls from school can negatively impact their mental and physical well-being and increase the likelihood of early marriage.
The consequences also affect boys, as the Taliban's ban on female teachers instructing male students contributes to teacher shortages and degrades the overall quality of education. In response to the formal educational closures, UNESCO has shifted its focus to community-based learning, literacy programs, skills development, and psychosocial support to maintain educational continuity for women and girls.
Nearly 70,000 individuals have participated in UNESCO's alternative programs, with women constituting 73% of the participants. These programs, which include literacy and skills classes held in community spaces and private homes with official knowledge, involve over 1,000 facilitators trained by UNESCO and its partners. A recent study indicated that these initiatives have helped improve household incomes and livelihoods, though UNESCO acknowledges they cannot fully substitute formal schooling.
"Afghanistan’s girls and women have the right to learn, to work, to move freely, and to shape their own futures," UNESCO asserted, urging the international community not to overlook the situation until their human rights are restored. The agency plans to continue collaborating with local communities and partners to offer alternative learning opportunities while advocating for the lifting of the education ban. UNESCO reiterated that the right to education is non-negotiable and a fundamental human right.