UNESCO says Taliban restrictions have kept about 2.4 million Afghan girls out of school beyond primary level since 2021. The agency warns that the consequences could be felt in Afghanistan for decades.
DR reports that the Taliban has prevented around 2.4 million girls from continuing their schooling after primary level since seizing power in Afghanistan in 2021. The figures come from UNESCO, five years after the group returned to power.
According to UNESCO, Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are formally excluded from both post-primary schooling and higher education. As DR notes, the movement promised in 2021 that women would still be able to attend school and study.
The first major restriction came in March 2022, when girls were barred from school after primary level. In December 2022, women were also excluded from universities. The Taliban described the bans as temporary, but they remain in force.
The movement says the restrictions follow its interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture, DR reports.
Teacher shortage and long-term costs
The bans also affect the rest of the Afghan school system. UNESCO estimates that the country will lack more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030, as reported by Reuters. Many teachers have already left the country, while women who remained in the system have been blocked from teaching.
More than two million children of school age are outside the school system for other reasons, according to UNESCO figures cited by DR. Learning levels are low, and more than 90 percent of 10-year-olds cannot read a simple text.
UNESCO also estimates that the education bans could push 600,000 Afghan women out of the labor market by 2066, with cumulative income losses of $9.6 billion. The organization’s 2023 Kabul report on the costs of suspending women’s access to higher education and work stated that more than 100,000 Afghan women were unable to resume university studies.
Reuters adds that UNESCO frames the limits on women’s education as a factor that will further weaken school quality in Afghanistan. The news agency also reports that the restrictions could increase the risk of early marriage for Afghan girls and women.
UNESCO warns that the trend may deepen poverty and carry consequences for Afghanistan for decades. The projected income losses are calculated up to 2066, based on the assumption that current restrictions continue.
The renewed attention follows UNESCO’s latest estimates of the scale and long-term cost of the restrictions, published as the group’s return to power reached the five-year mark. Reuters published its report on the findings on August 11, 2026, the same day DR reported the figures.
