Over 2.6 Million Afghan Girls Denied Secondary Education Since Taliban Takeover In 2021, Says UNICEF | Sahara Reporters

Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is effectively closed to girls and women.

More than 2.6 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban authorities took power five years ago, UNICEF has said.

UNICEF warned that the continued education restrictions are exposing girls to child labour, early marriage, violence and other protection risks in the country.

Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is effectively closed to girls and women.

Girls have been barred from formal education beyond grade six since September 2021, while women have been prohibited from attending universities since December 2022.

“Five years may be brief in a country’s history, but it is a defining period in a girl’s life,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, in a statement on Friday.

“A classroom offers more than learning. It gives a young person a voice and the ability to reach their full potential.

“And it offers a shield against child labor, early marriage, and violence and abuse. When schools closed, that protection disappeared – at a time when girls needed it most.”

UNICEF said girls who remain out of school face heightened risks of child labour, abuse, early marriage and gender-based violence.

The agency said those dangers are exacerbated by widespread poverty and displacement in Afghanistan.

UNICEF noted that more than 2.7 million people have returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan since 2023, with children and young people accounting for 60 per cent of the returnees.

The consequences of the education ban, according to UNICEF, extend beyond the millions of girls directly excluded from classrooms.

An analysis published by UNICEF in April 2026, titled The Cost of Inaction on Girls’ Education and Women’s Labour Force Participation in Afghanistan, found that Afghanistan could lose up to 20,000 women teachers and 5,400 female health workers by 2030 if the restrictions persist.

The number of female teachers in basic education has already dropped by more than nine per cent, from nearly 73,000 in 2022 to around 66,000 in 2024.

Female representation in Afghanistan’s civil service also declined from 21 per cent to 17.7 per cent between 2023 and 2025.

UNICEF said the restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment are also taking a major economic toll on the country.

According to the agency’s analysis, Afghanistan is losing about US$84 million annually in economic output because of the restrictions, with the losses accumulating each year the measures remain in place.

The impact could also be felt by future generations, UNICEF warned.

As the number of mothers without formal education increases, the risks of low birthweight, under-vaccination and stunting among children also rise, placing additional pressure on an already strained healthcare system.

Despite the restrictions, UNICEF said it has continued supporting education programmes for children across Afghanistan.

In 2025, more than 3.7 million children in public schools received emergency education support, while 442,000 children participated in community-based learning programmes, 66 per cent of whom were girls.

UNICEF also said 232 schools were built or rehabilitated during the year, calling on the de facto Afghan authorities to immediately reverse the restrictions preventing girls and women from accessing education.

“UNICEF calls on the de facto authorities to lift the restrictions on education and allow all girls and women to return to schools and universities immediately,” Russell said, echoing the UN Secretary-General’s call for the suspension of girls’ education in Afghanistan to be lifted.

“UNICEF and our partners stand ready to support the reopening of schools so that every girl can return safely,” Russell said.

“A country cannot thrive when half of its young people are held back. Afghanistan’s future is outside the classroom, waiting to be let back in.”