UNESCO Sounds Alarm On Afghanistan

Five years after the Taliban returned to power, UNESCO says **2.4 million Afghan girls** are still shut out of school.

Story Snapshot

UNESCO says girls in Afghanistan remain barred from secondary and higher education.
The agency puts the number at about 2.4 million girls excluded from secondary school.
Other UNESCO totals in recent reports vary because they use different age groups and baselines.
UNESCO says the ban keeps widening the gap between Afghan girls and boys.

What UNESCO Says About the Ban

UNESCO says Afghanistan is still the only country where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education. Reuters reported that the agency said about 2.4 million girls are unable to attend secondary school five years after the Taliban returned to power. The Associated Press reported that UNESCO renewed its call for the immediate and unconditional restoration of girls’ right to education.

UNESCO’s own reporting says the ban began with secondary school and then spread to higher education. The agency has described the restriction as a broad rights violation, not a short pause in schooling. In its latest figures, UNESCO also said the ban has grown more damaging over time because girls lose years of learning during the most important school ages.

Why the Numbers Keep Changing

The headline number can look confusing because UNESCO has used several counts in recent months. The agency has cited 1.4 million girls denied schooling, nearly 2.2 million girls barred from school beyond primary level, and almost 2.5 million girls deprived of education when pre-existing out-of-school girls are included. That does not weaken the core claim. It shows the agency is measuring different age bands and different baselines.

UNESCO says Afghanistan’s education crisis is bigger than the girls’ ban alone. Reuters reported that more than 2 million primary school children are also out of school. UNESCO has warned that the country’s wider system is under strain, with fewer learning options, weaker quality, and a future that grows worse the longer the ban lasts.

The Human and Economic Cost

UNESCO has tied the ban to long-term harm for Afghan families and the country’s economy. The agency says the policy cuts girls off from school during the years when they should be building reading, math, and job skills. UNESCO has also warned that the loss of higher education can reduce future earnings and slow national recovery. Those risks matter in a country already struggling with poverty and weak public services.

An estimated 2.4-million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban took over the country, Unesco says. https://t.co/8rhBMLlPut

— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) August 11, 2026

The political fight around the ban is easy to read, but the deeper issue is broader than one regime. Afghan girls are paying the price for a system that keeps public power in the hands of a small group while ordinary families lose options. UNESCO’s reports reflect that frustration on both sides of the political divide: people can disagree on global politics and still see a state failing its children.

What Comes Next

UNESCO is calling for immediate reopening of schools and universities for girls and young women. Reuters reported that the agency said the change is “not negotiable”. The agency is also pushing alternative learning and community-based programs, but it presents those as stopgap measures rather than a substitute for formal school.

The central fact remains unchanged: Afghan girls are still being blocked from normal schooling at a massive scale. The longer that continues, the more the country risks creating a lost generation with fewer skills, fewer jobs, and fewer paths out of dependency.