On Saturday, UNICEF called on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to immediately lift the ongoing ban on girls’ education, emphasizing the urgent need to secure the future of millions of girls who have been denied their right to education since the Taliban took control in 2021.
The appeal comes as the new school year began in Afghanistan, but without girls beyond the sixth grade in attendance. According to UNICEF, the ban has resulted in 400,000 more girls being deprived of their education, bringing the total number to 2.2 million.
Afghanistan remains the only country in the world to ban female secondary and higher education, with the Taliban justifying the restriction by stating that it does not align with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.
“For over three years, the rights of girls in Afghanistan have been violated,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement. “All girls must be allowed to return to school now. If these capable, bright young girls continue to be denied an education, then the repercussions will last for generations.”
Russell added that the ban will harm the future of millions of Afghan girls, warning that if the policy continues until 2030, “more than four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school.” She described the consequences as “catastrophic.”
Russell also warned of a decline in the number of female doctors and midwives, which could leave women and girls without essential medical care. This situation is expected to lead to approximately 1,600 additional maternal deaths and over 3,500 infant deaths. “These are not just numbers, they represent lives lost and families shattered,” she said.
March 22 is traditionally the day schools in Afghanistan reopen to mark the start of a new academic year. However, this year, as in the past, the schools opened without female students, due to the Taliban’s continued ban on girls’ secondary education.
The Taliban had originally promised to resume secondary education for girls eventually, but on March 23, 2022, they reversed this decision, sparking widespread global condemnation. Despite this setback, female students remain hopeful that this year will be the one where they are finally allowed to return to school.
Boys’ education has not escaped scrutiny either. The Taliban recently announced changes to the school uniform for male students, altering it to resemble the uniform worn in madrassas, rather than the traditional school attire.
