KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A new UN survey shows overwhelming nationwide support for girls’ education in Afghanistan, highlighting a sharp contrast between public opinion and the Taliban’s restrictive policies.
The report, released by UN Women this week, found that 92% of respondents consider girls’ education important and oppose the Taliban’s bans. The findings are based on a door-to-door survey of more than 2,000 Afghans in both rural and urban communities.
The survey shows consistent support across the country. In urban areas, 95% of both men and women said they support girls’ education. In rural communities, 95% of women and 87% of men shared the same view.
“This is almost always the first thing girls tell us — they are desperate to learn and just want the chance to gain an education,” said Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s Special Representative in Afghanistan. “Families also say they want their daughters to have that dream. They know that literacy and learning can change the trajectory of a girl’s life, in a country where half the population lives in poverty.”
Sophia Caltorp, UN Women’s Head of Humanitarian Affairs, called the level of support “remarkable.” She said nine out of ten Afghans surveyed reject the Taliban’s restrictions and feel the policies do not reflect their views.
The report warns of devastating consequences if the bans remain in place. By 2026, UN Women projects a 25% increase in child marriage, a 45% rise in early pregnancies among teenage girls, and at least a 50% surge in maternal deaths.
Economically, the bans are expected to cost Afghanistan more than $920 million between 2024 and 2026, according to the report.
“The cumulative impact of these restrictions goes beyond economics,” the report says. “Women’s ability to imagine a future in which they can work, lead, and contribute is being systematically dismantled.”
The social impact is also severe. A separate UN Women survey conducted in mid-2025 found that 97% of Afghan women said Taliban restrictions on their work and movement had damaged their daily lives. More than half of NGOs operating in the country report being unable to reach women and girls with essential services, leaving millions without access to education, health care, and humanitarian aid.
Despite the bans, Afghan women continue to resist. “Women have not lost hope,” Caltorp said. “They are transforming their resilience into a conscious strategy against repression.” She called on the international community to take practical action, describing the situation as “one of the greatest tests of gender equality in the world today.”
Since retaking power in 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from secondary and higher education, banned women from most jobs, and imposed strict rules on movement and public life. The UN estimates that more than 2.5 million school-age girls and 100,000 female university students are currently denied access to education.
Rights groups, UN experts, and activists say these restrictions amount to “gender apartheid,” accusing the Taliban of systematically erasing women from public life. Global pressure, including appeals from Muslim countries, has so far failed to convince the Taliban to lift the restrictions, leaving millions of Afghan women and girls facing an uncertain future.
