Afghan girls barred from secondary school reach 2.4 million — UNESCO

Paris — UNESCO said on Tuesday that approximately 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan are currently denied access to secondary education, an increase of about 200,000 compared to last year, and urged the Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on women’s education immediately.
UNESCO noted that since March 2022 girls have been prevented from attending secondary schools, and in December 2022 women were also barred from universities. The agency warned that if the trend continues the number of girls out of secondary school could rise to nearly 4 million by 2030, and Afghanistan could face a shortfall of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030.
The UN added that the ban on female teachers has led to the dismissal of experienced educators and the replacement of women with untrained male teachers, compounding existing problems in the education system and harming the economy.
UNESCO and UN appeals, including calls from several Muslim-majority countries, have urged the Taliban to reverse the measures. The Taliban government, however, has rejected international pressure and described the policy as an internal matter.