Story perspectives

Taliban Gender Restrictions Persist, 2.4 Million Girls Excluded

8/15/2026

Center

Taliban Restrict Women

The Taliban’s restrictions on Afghan women and girls have continued five years after its August 2021 takeover.
UN Women reports half of Afghan women leave home only once or twice a month, while the Taliban have issued over 100 gender-targeted decrees.
Human Rights Watch urged release of two UN staffers, six NGO workers detained by Taliban.
Georgetown University counted 264 Taliban decrees since 2021, 166 targeting women and girls.

Right

Taliban Block Education

Afghan women and girls remain barred from secondary education and most public jobs five years after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
UNESCO-run community literacy and skills programs have enrolled roughly 70,000 participants—73 % women—boosting household incomes despite the ban.
The agency estimates 2.4 million Afghan girls are excluded from secondary education.
The Taliban calls the education ban a domestic issue and rejects pleas to lift it.

Blindspot

Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security counted 264 Taliban decrees since 2021, 166 of which specifically target women and girls.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Center-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Right-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

In September 1996 the Taliban seized Kabul and banned girls from secondary schools. A 1998 UNICEF report showed nine out of ten Afghan girls were out of school, and UN Women later noted enrollment remained extremely low. Today Human Rights Watch and Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security warn that over 100 new gender-targeted decrees revive those original bans.

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Taliban Restrict Women

The Taliban’s restrictions on Afghan women and girls have continued five years after its August 2021 takeover.
UN Women reports half of Afghan women leave home only once or twice a month, while the Taliban have issued over 100 gender-targeted decrees.
Human Rights Watch urged release of two UN staffers, six NGO workers detained by Taliban.
Georgetown University counted 264 Taliban decrees since 2021, 166 targeting women and girls.

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