Some 1.4 million Afghan girls deprived of education by Taliban

ParisAt least 1.4 million adolescent girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, putting the future of an entire generation at risk, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported on Thursday.

Access to primary education has also declined sharply, with 1.1 million fewer children attending school, the UN agency said in a statement on the third anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.

“UNESCO is alarmed by the harmful consequences of this growing dropout rate, which could lead to an increase in child labour and early marriages,” she said.

“In just three years, the de facto authorities have almost wiped out two decades of steady progress in education in Afghanistan, and the future of an entire generation is now at risk,” he said.

Currently, nearly 2.5 million girls and adolescents are deprived of their right to education, representing 80 percent of school-aged girls, the UN agency reported.

The Taliban administration, which is not recognised by any other country, has imposed restrictions on women that the UN describes as “gender apartheid”.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world that prevents girls and women from attending secondary schools and universities.

“As a result of the bans imposed by the de facto authorities, at least 1.4 million adolescents have been deliberately deprived of access to secondary education since 2021,” UNESCO said.

This represents an increase of 300,000 since the previous count conducted by the UN agency in April 2023.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has called on the international community to remain mobilised “to obtain the unconditional reopening of secondary schools and universities for Afghan girls and women.”

Enrollment in higher education is also a cause for concern, the statement added, noting that the number of university students decreased by 53 percent since 2021.

“As a result, the country will quickly face a shortage of qualified graduates for the most specialized jobs, which will exacerbate development problems,” UNESCO said.