Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education. Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO program coordinator for education in emergencies, stated this distinction during a news conference by video.

Hoda Jaberian said that five years is not a temporary interruption in a child’s education, but clearly almost an entire secondary school cycle.

The UN states the ban on women teaching boys stripped qualified staff from the system and left boys with untrained male teachers. The Taliban has maintained the ban on girls' education despite appeals from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, human-rights advocates, and several Islamic countries.

Ninety percent of 10-year-olds in Afghanistan cannot read a simple text. More than two million children are out of class at the primary school level in Afghanistan. Nearly half of schools in Afghanistan lack water, sanitation, or heating.

Natural disasters have forced about 1,000 schools to close in Afghanistan in the past five years. These closures compound the challenges facing the education sector in the country.

UNESCO supports education in Afghanistan by running community-based education, literacy, and skills development programs. Skills development and literacy classes take place in community spaces, often inside the homes of literacy facilitators, with the knowledge of the authorities.

There are more than 1,000 literacy facilitators in Afghanistan, most of them trained by UNESCO and its partners. These facilitators operate within the constraints imposed by the current authorities.

Why It Matters

The exclusion of 2.4 million girls from secondary education represents a systemic reversal of prior gains in the country. With national literacy at 37 percent and 90 percent of 10-year-olds unable to read simple text, the long-term impact on human capital is substantial. The projection that exclusions could reach four million by 2030 indicates a deepening crisis rather than a temporary disruption.

International responses have included diplomatic appeals and regulatory actions regarding cultural heritage. The Homeland Security Department published rules on emergency import restrictions for archaeological and ethnological material from Afghanistan in 2022 and extended them in 2026. These measures exist alongside ongoing efforts by UN agencies to preserve learning pathways through community-based initiatives despite formal bans.

Timeline

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021. The Taliban barred girls from secondary schools shortly after taking power in August 2021. The Taliban extended restrictions to higher education, employment, and other sectors, effectively excluding women and girls from public life. By 2021, nearly 1 million girls were enrolled in secondary education in Afghanistan.

The Homeland Security Department published a rule titled Emergency Import Restrictions Imposed on Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Afghanistan on 2022-02-22. Women were barred from universities in December 2022. The Homeland Security Department published a rule titled Extension of Emergency Import Restrictions Imposed on Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Afghanistan on 2026-04-28. On 2026-08-12, a statement noted: "While the restriction remains, we cannot abandon Afghan learners. UNESCO work with communities and our partners from the communities to preserve every possible pathway to learning."

What's New

Additional reporting indicates that UNESCO projects the number of girls excluded from secondary school could approach four million by 2030. Natural disasters have forced about 1,000 schools to close in Afghanistan in the past five years. More than two million children are out of class at the primary school level in Afghanistan.

The Homeland Security Department published a rule titled Extension of Emergency Import Restrictions Imposed on Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Afghanistan on 2026-04-28. Data shows that ninety percent of 10-year-olds in Afghanistan cannot read a simple text. National literacy in Afghanistan is 37 percent. Nine out of 10 Afghan men questioned in a UN survey last year said it was important for girls to go to secondary school.

How Sources Differ

Regarding the figure for Afghan girls in secondary education, the UNESCO report on education in Afghanistan states that an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban took power. In contrast, newsdata (DAWN/AFP) reports that nine out of 10 Afghan men questioned in a UN survey last year said it was important for girls to go to secondary school.

On the detail of when girls were barred from secondary schools after the Taliban took power, the UNESCO report on education in Afghanistan notes that an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban took power. The Taliban decree on education states that the Taliban barred girls from secondary schools shortly after taking power in August 2021.

Concerning the justification for the ban on girls' secondary education by the Taliban, the UNESCO report on education in Afghanistan reports that an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban took power. Newsdata (DAWN/AFP) reports that the Taliban authorities justify the ban on girls' secondary education on their interpretation of Islamic law.