Perth, Aug 11: For five years now, women and girls in Afghanistan have seen their basic rights and freedoms steadily eroded. They are barred from secondary school and university, excluded from most paid work and public‑facing professions, and require a male guardian (mahram) to travel. Legal protection against violence has been weakened. Women have been pushed out of public life and, as a new generation of girls grows up without an education, their future becomes increasingly dark.
Afghanistan is the only country in the world to formally prohibit girls and women from accessing education beyond the primary level. As of 2026, an estimated 2.4 million girls remain excluded from secondary education, according to UNESCO. Each year, this figure grows as new cohorts of girls complete primary school but are blocked from progressing to secondary grades.
These restrictions are reversing two decades of progress in expanding access to education. While access to schooling for girls was severely limited in 2001, by 2021 nearly one million girls were enrolled in secondary education. That hard‑won progress has now been largely undone.
A deepening education emergency
The ban on girls’ secondary and higher education is only one part of a wider education emergency. A recent sector‑wide analysis cited by UNESCO shows that 53% of primary school‑age children with more than 2 million are completely out of school, even though primary education is not formally banned. At the same time, over 90% of 10‑year‑olds are unable to read and understand a simple, age‑appropriate text, pointing to a severe learning crisis that affects both girls and boys.
The physical environment for learning is deteriorating as well. Nearly half of all schools lack clean water, sanitation and heating, and a succession of earthquakes, floods and other natural hazards since 2021 has forced the closure of more than 1,000 schools.
UNESCO warns that the continued exclusion of girls and women from education constitutes a grave violation of their fundamental human right to learn and risks condemning Afghanistan to decades of lost potential, deepening poverty and long‑term damage to its human capital.
At a time when nearly half of Afghans live below the poverty line, denying girls and women access to education and restricting their employment further undermines their ability to support their families and contribute to the country’s economic future.
Long-term human and economic costs
The impact of the bans will be felt across generations. Restrictions on girls’ secondary schooling and women’s access to universities are already shrinking the pool of qualified female teachers. UNESCO projects that, if current policies persist, Afghanistan will face a shortage of around 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030, driven by the bans, the departure of many professionals from the country and prohibitions on women teaching boys. This has already led to boys being taught by under‑qualified male teachers in many places, undermining the quality of education for all.
A recent UNESCO simulation suggests that if the ban is not reversed, approximately 600,000 Afghan women will leave the workforce by 2066 without being replaced by similarly educated women. Even on the assumption that men fill these positions, the cumulative income loss is estimated at nearly US$9.6 billion by the time the current cohort of educated women exits the labour market.
Beyond the economic figures, the exclusion from education and employment has harmful consequences for the wellbeing and mental and physical health of girls and women, and increases the risk of early and forced marriage. Studies and community‑level reports collected by UNESCO and its partners point to rising levels of psychological distress, including increased reports of attempted suicide linked to the loss of educational and professional prospects.
Additional pressure from mass returns
Afghanistan’s strained education system is under further pressure from large‑scale returns of refugees and migrants. Since 2023, more than seven million Afghans have returned or been forced to return from neighbouring countries and beyond, including approximately three million in 2025 alone. Children under 15 account for about 56% of these returnees.
Many adolescent girls who had access to secondary education in Iran, Pakistan or other host countries now find themselves permanently excluded from formal schooling on their return to Afghanistan. UNESCO warns that the combined effects of displacement, poverty and gender‑based restrictions are widening gaps in access to learning and pushing the most vulnerable further behind.
Alternative pathways to learning
Despite these challenges, UNESCO says it remains determined to support Afghan girls and women by offering alternative pathways to learning through community-based education, literacy and skills development programmes, as well as psychosocial support.
These programmes operate across 20 provinces and are delivered through more than 2,600 village‑level classes, in partnership with Afghan non‑governmental organisations and community groups. All teaching is carried out by Afghan educators, and all materials are in Pashto and Dari. The programmes target young people and adults – typically aged 15 to 45 – who have been denied access to formal schooling.
To date, nearly 70,000 learners have benefited from UNESCO’s programmes, 73% of whom are women and girls. Classes combine basic literacy and numeracy with market‑relevant skills training, reflecting the needs identified within each community. These skills include tailoring and embroidery, carpet weaving, leatherwork, hand‑knitting and crochet, mobile phone repair, electrical installation and maintenance, vegetable farming and food processing, among others.
UNESCO’s work is supported by partners including the Global Partnership for Education, the European Union and Canada, which help provide not only educational opportunities but also safe spaces where learners can build confidence, strengthen resilience and prepare for the future.
Measurable impact – and clear limits
The impact of these community‑based programmes is increasingly visible. A recent study shows encouraging evidence that literacy and skills development contribute to increased household income and improved livelihoods. Around one‑third of women learners report higher household production and income, while many male learners also report significant income gains thanks to new skills acquired through the classes.
Beyond their economic benefits, learners’ experiences show that education is not only about acquiring knowledge. Participants consistently describe the classes as a source of dignity, social inclusion and hope, helping women and their families to better navigate uncertainty and cope with the daily pressures of life under severe restrictions.
Alongside these in‑person programmes, UNESCO also supports media‑based and digital learning for those who cannot attend community classes. Educational content aligned with the secondary curriculum is broadcast several times a day on radio and television through Afghan media partners, and mobile‑based learning, including WhatsApp lessons developed with partners such as Solar X, offers daily learning opportunities to girls and young women. UNESCO estimates that these media‑based initiatives have reached more than 17 million Afghans, both inside the country and in exile.
However, UNESCO stresses that none of these measures can replace access to formal schooling and universities. They are described as vital, stop‑gap opportunities to keep learning alive while restrictions remain in place.
“The world must not look away”
Afghanistan’s girls and women, UNESCO underlines, have the right to learn, to work, to move freely and to shape their own futures. Denying these rights is incompatible with international human rights standards and with any vision of sustainable peace and development.
Gender equality is a strategic priority for the Organisation. UNESCO once again condemns discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan and calls for the immediate and unconditional restoration of their right to education. The agency says it will continue to work with communities and trusted partners to preserve every possible pathway to learning, dignity and opportunity for all – and urges the international community not to look away until Afghan women’s and girls’ human rights are fully restored.
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