UNESCO has announced that Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are banned from accessing education beyond the primary level, with an estimated 2.4 million girls deprived of secondary education.
The organization said at a press conference on Tuesday, August 11, that the Taliban’s education restrictions have reversed two decades of progress in expanding girls’ access to education.
UNESCO said that in 2001, girls’ access to education was severely limited, but by 2021, nearly one million girls were enrolled in secondary education.
According to the organization, the continued exclusion of girls and women from education constitutes a serious violation of their fundamental right to learn, and there is a risk that Afghanistan could face decades of lost human potential, increased poverty, and irreversible damage.
UNESCO added that, at a time when nearly half of the people of Afghanistan live below the poverty line, depriving girls and women of education and imposing restrictions on employment further undermines their ability to support their families and participate in the country’s economic future.
The organization also warned that being deprived of education has harmful consequences for the well-being and mental and physical health of girls and women and increases the risk of early marriage.
