Five Years Without Secondary School: 2.4 Million Girls
UNESCO warns that Afghanistan is the only country in the world that formally bans secondary and higher education for girls and women, completely reversing decades of progress.
UNESCO warns that Afghanistan is the only country in the world that formally bans secondary and higher education for girls and women, completely reversing decades of progress.
Five years after the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, 2.4 million girls still lack access to secondary education, UNESCO reported on Tuesday. The United Nations agency for education, science, and culture called for the urgent and unconditional restoration of the right to education, stressing that this is an unprecedented case globally.
"Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education," said Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO's program coordinator for education in emergencies. The number of girls without secondary school has increased by 200,000 compared to last year, and if the ban continues, it could reach nearly four million by 2030.
In the two decades before the Taliban's return, girls' access to education improved significantly. While their access to schooling was severely limited in 2001, by 2021 nearly one million girls were enrolled in secondary education. "Afghanistan made truly significant progress in expanding girls' access to education. But unfortunately, much of that progress has now been completely undone," said Jaberian.
The Taliban returned to power on August 15, 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces. Initially, they assured the international community that women would be allowed to continue their education. However, secondary schools for girls were closed in March 2022, and in December of the same year, women were banned from enrolling in universities. The Taliban authorities have described these measures as temporary, but they remain in force.
UNESCO emphasizes that the consequences of Taliban policies extend far beyond education itself. "Women have been erased from public life, and as a new generation of girls grows up without education, their future becomes increasingly bleak," the agency's statement reads. Women are banned from working in most paid jobs and public professions, and they also face restrictions on movement without a male guardian.
The education ban is already causing serious economic repercussions. UNESCO estimates that excluding women from secondary and higher education could push about 600,000 women out of the workforce by 2066. Cumulative income losses could reach $9.6 billion. "Five years is not a temporary interruption in a child's education. It is essentially an entire secondary school cycle," Jaberian warned.
The ban has exacerbated an already severe shortage of qualified female teachers. UNESCO expects Afghanistan to face a shortage of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030. "Many female teachers have left the country, and those who were in the system have been prohibited from continuing to teach," Jaberian said, adding that some students have been left with unqualified male teachers or no teacher at all.
Afghanistan's education system also faces other serious challenges. More than two million children of primary school age are not attending school for other reasons. Over 90% of ten-year-olds cannot read a simple text, and the national literacy rate is only 37%. Many schools are overcrowded and poorly equipped, and nearly half lack water, sanitation, or heating. Natural disasters, including earthquakes and floods, have forced the closure of about 1,000 schools since 2021. The return of refugees adds further pressure, three million people returned to Afghanistan in 2025 alone, and more than seven million since 2023.
While formal secondary and higher education remain closed to women and girls, UNESCO has turned to alternative programs. Nearly 70,000 individuals have participated in literacy and skills development programs, with women making up 73% of participants. More than 1,000 literacy facilitators, mostly trained by UNESCO and partners, conduct classes in community spaces and homes. Research has shown that these programs have helped increase household incomes, but the agency acknowledges that they cannot replace formal schooling.
"UNESCO continues to call for the urgent and unconditional restoration of girls' and women's right to secondary and higher education. This is not negotiable. It is a fundamental human right, and we reiterate that there is no substitute for it," Jaberian concluded. "Afghan girls and women have the right to learn, work, move freely, and shape their own future," the UNESCO statement adds.
