The United Nations said Thursday that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have “deliberately deprived” 1.4 million girls of schooling since they reclaimed power three years ago, putting at risk the future of an entire generation.
The U.N. Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization or UNESCO released the new report as de facto Afghan leaders marked the third anniversary of ruling the poverty-stricken South Asian country this week.
The Taliban swept back to power in August 2021 and have placed sweeping restrictions on women’s access to education and public life, making Afghanistan the only country in the world to prohibit access to education for girls ages 12 and older.
“As a result of bans imposed by the de facto authorities, at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education since 2021,” said Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO director-general, in a statement.
“This represents an increase of 300,000 since the previous count carried out by UNESCO in April 2023 – with more girls reaching the age limit of 12 every year,” she noted.
The U.N. and global human rights groups have denounced the bans as “gender apartheid” and called for their immediate reversal.
The Taliban government, not formally recognized by any country, has not immediately responded to the UNESCO findings and demands for removing the bans on female education.
The radical Afghan leaders have vehemently and persistently rejected criticism of their policies, claiming they are aligned with local culture and their harsh interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.
Azoulay said that almost 2.5 million girls in Afghanistan, which accounts for 80% of school-age girls, are now unable to access education due to the bans. The report also includes girls who were not attending school before the Taliban takeover, she added.
The UNESCO report said that access to primary education had “also fallen sharply,” with 1.1 million fewer Afghan girls and boys attending school under the Taliban rule. It added that Afghanistan had only 5.7 million girls and boys in primary school in 2022, compared with 6.8 million in 2019.
The study attributed the drop in primary school enrollment to the Taliban’s decision to prohibit female teachers from teaching boys, exacerbating the teacher shortage. Increasingly difficult “socio-economic” circumstances facing Afghanistan are also responsible for parents’ lack of incentive to send their children to school, according to the report.
“UNESCO is alarmed by the harmful consequences of this increasingly massive drop-out rate, which could lead to a rise in child labor and early marriage.”
“In just three years, the de facto authorities have almost wiped out two decades of steady progress for education in Afghanistan, and the future of an entire generation is now in jeopardy,” Azoulay said.
Enrollment in higher education is equally concerning, the statement said, adding that the number of university students had decreased by 53% since 2021.
“As a result, the country will rapidly face a shortage of graduates trained for the most highly skilled jobs, which will only exacerbate development problems,” said UNESCO.
Azoulay urged the global community to “maintain its mobilization for the full restoration of the right to education for girls and women in Afghanistan.”
