KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan and the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for Afghanistan on Sunday called on the Taliban authorities to lift their ban on girls’ education beyond sixth grade, as the country begins a new academic year.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur, said in a message marking Nowruz and the start of the new academic year that Afghanistan is beginning another school year in which girls above sixth grade remain barred from classrooms and women continue to be excluded from universities.
“It is unacceptable and must be reversed,” Bennett wrote, noting that Afghanistan is the only country where girls are denied education beyond the primary level.
Richard Lindsay, the UK’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, echoed the call, saying that depriving women and girls of education harms the country’s future and holds back Afghan communities. “Education must be available to all,” he said, highlighting the long-term social and economic consequences of keeping millions of girls out of school.
The Taliban imposed the ban on secondary school girls following their return to power after the Fall of Kabul in August 2021. The restrictions were later extended to higher education, preventing women from attending universities and professional institutes, including medical schools.
The restrictions are part of a broader set of measures imposed by the Taliban that limit women’s participation in public life, including restrictions on employment in many sectors, bans on working with some NGOs, and rules affecting women’s movement and access to public spaces.
Despite repeated calls from the international community, including Muslim-majority countries and organizations such as the UN, the Taliban have shown no indication of easing the restrictions.
According to UN data, more than 2.5 million girls in Afghanistan are currently out of school and universities due to the bans, raising concerns about long-term social and economic impacts, including reduced workforce participation and increased poverty.
UN experts and international human rights groups have characterized the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls as “gender apartheid” and have called for it to be recognized under international law as a crime against humanity.
The start of the academic year coincides with Nowruz celebrations, which were previously observed as an official national holiday under the former government. The Taliban, however, have not formally recognized or marked the occasion since returning to power.
