Taliban’s Ban on Girls’ Secondary Education Marks Five Years of Exclusion

An estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain barred from secondary education five years after the Taliban took power, according to a United Nations agency. UNESCO has reiterated that the ban constitutes a grave violation of fundamental rights and has called for the immediate and unconditional restoration of girls’ and women’s right to secondary and higher education.

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The Taliban seized power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces after two decades of conflict. Within weeks, the new administration prohibited girls from attending secondary schools and later extended the restriction to universities, formal employment, and many public spheres. Prior to the takeover, Afghanistan had made notable progress: by 2021, nearly 1 million girls were enrolled in secondary education, a sharp increase from the minimal enrollment in 2001.

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• 2.4 million girls excluded from secondary education (UN agency estimate).

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• 1 million girls enrolled in secondary schools in 2021, representing two decades of advancement that has been significantly impacted.

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• UNESCO supports community-based learning through more than 1,000 literacy facilitators, many trained by UNESCO and partner organizations, delivering classes in homes and local spaces with the knowledge of authorities.

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UNESCO’s program coordinator for education in emergencies, Hoda Jaberian, emphasized that the ban is “not negotiable” and framed education as a basic human right with no substitute. She noted that the continued exclusion has undone two decades of progress and that UNESCO will maintain community-based programs while the restriction persists.

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Taliban officials have repeatedly described the education policy as an internal matter, asserting that external pressure does not dictate domestic governance. No Taliban spokesperson has publicly announced a reversal of the ban.

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Human-rights advocates, including Amnesty International, describe the systematic denial of education as “gender apartheid” and call for international mechanisms to hold the Taliban accountable for serious human-rights violations. The organization urges governments, such as Australia, to expand humanitarian protection and refugee pathways for Afghan women, girls, and other vulnerable groups.

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• “Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education,” — Hoda Jaberian

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• “Five years is not a temporary interruption in a child's education. It is clearly almost an entire secondary school cycle.” — Hoda Jaberian

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• “Afghanistan had made really major progress in expanding girls' access to education,” — Hoda Jaberian

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• “While the restriction remains, we cannot abandon Afghan learners,” — Hoda Jaberian

The Independent

The exclusion of girls from secondary education undermines Afghanistan’s long-term human-capital development, erodes gender equality, and contravenes international human-rights standards. By halting education for an entire generation, the policy threatens future economic participation and limits the country’s ability to rebuild after years of conflict.

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UNESCO continues to operate community-based literacy and skills programs while urging the Taliban to lift the ban. International bodies and NGOs maintain pressure through diplomatic statements and advocacy campaigns, but no concrete timetable for policy change has been announced. The situation remains a focal point of global human-rights monitoring as the five-year anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power approaches.

The Independent