PARIS/KABUL, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The Taliban have barred an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls from secondary education since they regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said on Tuesday.
The Taliban are preparing to mark the fifth anniversary of their return to power this week, as some nations expand ties with the government despite deepening human rights concerns among watchdogs.
Afghanistan is the only country where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education, UNESCO said in its statement. It "risks condemning Afghanistan to decades of lost potential, deepening poverty, and irreversible harm," the agency said.
UNESCO estimates the ban on female secondary and higher education could cause 600,000 Afghan women to leave the workforce by 2066, lead to $9.6 billion in cumulative income losses and increase the risk of early marriage.
The Taliban-run Ministry of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SCHOOLS CLOSED TO GIRLS IN 2022
When the Taliban returned to power in 2021 amid the withdrawal of the United States and its allies, they repeatedly assured the international community that women would remain free to go to school and to study.
Despite those promises, secondary schools were closed for girls in March 2022, followed by a ban on women studying in universities in December 2022. The Taliban described both bans as temporary, but they have remained in place.
Taliban restrictions also limit women's employment and their movement.
The Taliban argue they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture.
Restrictions on women pursuing higher education in Afghanistan are also expected to exacerbate a shortage of female teachers, with more than 2 million primary school children already out of school for reasons other than the bans on girls and women, UNESCO said.
UNESCO estimates Afghanistan will have a deficit of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030.
"Many teachers have left the country ... and those who were in the system are banned from continuing teaching," Hoda Jaberian, the UNESCO programme coordinator for education in emergencies, said in a briefing.
"This decision to ban women from teaching boys has not only, of course, removed a substantial number of qualified teachers and educators from the education system, but it also resulted in boys being taught by unqualified male teachers," Jaberian added. "We are left with unqualified male teachers or no teachers at all."
UNESCO said over 90% of 10-year-olds cannot read a simple text, with national literacy rates at 37%.
Many schools are overcrowded and poorly equipped. Nearly half of schools lack water, sanitation or heating, UNESCO said.
In 2025 alone, 3 million people returned to Afghanistan, either forcibly or voluntarily, placing further pressure on the schools. Since 2021, natural disasters including earthquakes and floods have forced the closure of 1,000 schools, UNESCO said.
(Reporting by Lewis Macdonald and Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Toby Chopra, Rick Noack, Rod Nickel)
