When the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, 2021, one of the most important questions facing the world was whether the group would govern differently from its previous rule—particularly when it came to women’s rights and education.
At the time, Taliban leaders gave assurances that women would be allowed to study and work. Five years later, the reality appears markedly different. Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls and women remain barred from secondary and higher education.
To understand the scale of the crisis, one figure is enough. According to UNESCO and UNICEF, more than 2.2 million girls in Afghanistan are being denied secondary education. These are girls who are unable to attend school beyond the sixth grade. Many have now reached an age when their peers in other countries would be preparing for college or university. In Afghanistan, their educational journey has been stalled for years.
After the Taliban returned to power, there was initially some hope that girls’ schools would eventually reopen. In March 2022, authorities announced that girls above the sixth grade would be allowed to return to school. Many students put on their uniforms and arrived at school, only for the decision to be reversed that same day. BBC reporting at the time captured the disappointment and tears of students. What was initially viewed as a temporary measure has now become a defining issue for the educational future of an entire generation.
According to UNESCO, Afghanistan made significant progress in education between 2001 and 2021. School enrollment increased several-fold, and millions of girls gained access to formal education for the first time. Female literacy also improved. By 2021, Afghan girls and women were present in large numbers not only in schools but also at universities. The progress was far from complete, but over two decades an educational system had emerged in which women had pathways to advance. Those pathways are now being closed one by one.
Perhaps the most serious consequences of the education ban are not immediately visible. When a girl leaves school, she does not simply lose a class or an academic year. Her opportunities to attend college or university and eventually enter professional life are also severely restricted. This is why United Nations agencies increasingly view the issue not only as a women’s rights crisis but also as a crisis of Afghanistan’s human capital.
According to a 2026 UNICEF study, if restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment remain in place, Afghanistan could face a shortage of approximately 20,000 female teachers and 5,400 female healthcare workers by 2030. Women’s representation in government employment has also declined. Between 2023 and 2025, the proportion of women in the civil service fell from approximately 21 percent to 17.7 percent.
These figures are particularly significant because female professionals are essential to Afghanistan’s health and education sectors. In a society where women may not always be able to access male healthcare providers easily, female doctors, nurses and midwives play an indispensable role. But if today’s female students cannot obtain the education required to become doctors or nurses, where will the next generation of female healthcare professionals come from?
The restrictions are also affecting the economy. According to UNICEF, limitations on women’s education and labor-force participation are costing Afghanistan approximately $84 million in economic output each year. That amount was equivalent to roughly half a percent of the country’s 2023 gross domestic product.
In August 2026, the International Labour Organization, or ILO, reported in its latest assessment of women’s economic situation in Afghanistan that female labor-force participation had fallen to just 5.1 percent. This means that during five years of Taliban rule, women have gradually been pushed not only out of educational institutions but also out of economic life.
Afghanistan’s current crisis, therefore, is no longer simply about whether girls can attend school. It has become a broader question: How can a country sustain its economy, healthcare system and future while excluding half of its population from education and employment?
Nor is the problem limited to girls. According to UNESCO and UNICEF reports, Afghanistan’s entire education system is under severe pressure. In 2024, more than 2.1 million primary-school-age children were out of school. More than 90 percent of 10-year-olds lacked the basic ability to read and understand a simple text. In other words, while secondary education remains closed to girls, the educational outcomes of many children who do attend school are also deeply concerning.
Faced with these restrictions, Afghan families and communities have sought alternative ways to continue girls’ education. Thousands of girls have attempted to keep studying through home-based education, community classes, radio programs and online learning. But these alternatives cannot fully replace formal schools and universities. Education is not simply about reading books; it also provides qualifications, teachers, examinations, social interaction and pathways toward future opportunities.
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of the situation is that the impact of the restrictions is deepening with time. A 12-year-old girl who was forced out of school in 2022 is now around 16 or 17 years old. Under normal circumstances, she might be preparing for college or university. In Afghanistan, her question is not which subject she will choose next year, but whether she will ever be allowed to return to school.
UNICEF has warned that if the current restrictions continue, more than four million girls could be deprived of education beyond the primary level by 2030. This means that today’s crisis could become several times larger in the years ahead.
The Taliban maintains that its restrictions on women’s education and employment are consistent with Islamic principles and the needs of Afghan society. The United Nations, UNESCO, UNICEF and other international organizations, however, have repeatedly called for the restoration of girls’ and women’s rights to education and employment.
Five years ago, the question was whether the Taliban would fulfill its promises. Today, the figures are providing an answer. More than 2.2 million girls remain excluded from secondary education, women’s labor-force participation stands at just 5.1 percent, and Afghanistan faces the prospect of shortages of thousands of female teachers and healthcare workers in the years ahead.
A school door was closed to Afghan girls, but the consequences are now reaching far beyond the classroom. The question is no longer simply how many Afghan girls are being denied an education today. The larger question is how much Afghanistan will have to pay for five years of lost education over the next ten, twenty and thirty years.
