Taliban’s School Ban Locks Out 2.4 Million Afghan Girls, UN Says

Five years after the Taliban barred Afghan girls from attending school beyond the primary level, 2.4 million remain locked out of secondary education, according to the United Nations’ education agency. UNESCO released the figure on Thursday, marking the anniversary of the ban. The agency stated that no girls have been allowed to sit for official upper-secondary exams since the policy took effect. The ban has halted what UNESCO called “decades of progress” in girls’ education in Afghanistan. Before the restriction, the number of girls in secondary school had risen sharply, and female enrollment in higher education had also grown. Under the current rule, girls are only permitted to attend school through the sixth grade. The UN agency noted that even if the policy were reversed today, it would take years to rebuild the lost capacity, including training enough teachers and reopening closed classrooms. UNESCO called on Afghan authorities to lift the ban immediately, saying the continued exclusion of girls harms not only their futures but also the country’s development.