UNESCO: 2.4 Million Afghan Girls Denied Secondary Education

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says about 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan are currently unable to attend secondary school, renewing calls for the Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on female education.

UNESCO said the number has increased by about 200,000 since last year and could reach nearly 4 million by 2030 if the current policy remains in place.

Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are officially barred from secondary schools and universities. Girls were excluded from secondary education in March 2022, while women were banned from universities later that year.

The Taliban government has also prohibited women from teaching boys. UNESCO warns that this could result in a shortage of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030, further weakening the country’s education system.

Afghanistan is also facing wider educational challenges. Many schools are overcrowded and poorly equipped, while nearly half lack adequate water, sanitation or heating. Natural disasters have also forced around 1,000 schools to close over the past five years.

At the primary level, more than 2 million children are out of school, while UNESCO estimates that 90 percent of 10-year-olds cannot read a simple text. The country’s overall literacy rate stands at about 37 percent.

The Taliban administration has rejected international calls, including those from several Muslim-majority countries, to reopen secondary schools and universities to girls and women, describing the policy as an internal matter.

Source: Al Jazeera / AFP / AP

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