KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Around 2.2 million adolescent girls in Afghanistan remain barred from secondary education due to Taliban restrictions, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on the International Day of Education.
In a joint statement on Saturday, the UN agencies stated that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are completely barred from secondary and higher education.
The International Day of Education, observed globally on January 24, was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly to highlight education as a fundamental human right and a driver of peace, equality, and sustainable development.
In their statement, UNICEF and UNESCO highlighted a broader learning crisis in Afghanistan, noting that 93% of children at the end of primary school are still struggling to reach basic reading proficiency, demonstrating an urgent need for investment in early-grade literacy and numeracy.
A recent study cited by the agencies found that students perform better in schools with a higher share of university-educated teachers, particularly in language subjects. Female teachers demonstrated stronger content knowledge and were linked to improved student outcomes, highlighting the importance of increasing the number of qualified women in the teaching workforce.
“When girls are denied access to education, an entire nation pays the price,” said Soohyun Kim, Officer in Charge of UNESCO Afghanistan. “Strengthening foundational learning and supporting women teachers are critical investments in Afghanistan’s recovery and resilience.”
Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, emphasized the long-term consequences of the education ban. “Afghanistan urgently needs female teachers, nurses, community health workers, and doctors,” he said. “In a context where women can only be treated by women, if girls are denied education today, who will care for sick girls and women in the future?”
UNICEF and UNESCO said they continue to support a comprehensive approach to reviving education in Afghanistan, including rebuilding schools, strengthening teacher capacity, expanding foundational learning, and supporting skills development for young people, particularly girls and women excluded from formal schooling.
The agencies called for urgent collective action and investment to ensure safe, inclusive, and equitable access to education for all children.
Shortly after returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban barred girls from secondary schools and later extended the restrictions to higher education, employment, and other sectors, effectively excluding women and girls from public life. UN experts, rights groups, and activists widely agree that the Taliban’s systematic oppression of women constitutes “gender apartheid”—an institutionalized system that subjugates them solely because of their gender.
Despite repeated appeals from the United Nations, aid organizations, rights groups, and some Islamic countries over the past four years, the Taliban has refused to reverse the ban, insisting that it is an internal matter.
