– In Afghanistan
Over 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan are denied their rights to education (UNESCO, 2024).
This adds to an already 2.5 million out-of-school girls before 2021 (UNICEF, 2022).
The number of girls who cannot access tertiary education remains unknown
Why girl’s education
Today, nearly are banned from attending secondary schools in Afghanistan
If all girls completed 12 years of schooling
An extra year of secondary school
Keeping girls out of high school
The Ban on Girls’ Education
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 marked an abrupt rollback of women’s rights
Women are at risk of erasure from public life and are denied their fundamental human rights, including education, which severely limits Afghanistan’s potential for social and economic development.
On This Day
1996-2001
In the 1990s, too, women were denied their fundamental rights for six years, chief among them access to education
Colleges Open, Schools Closed
Primary Schools Open, Secondary Schools Closed
In September 2021, it was announced that girls could only attend primary schools, not secondary schools
But Secondary Schools Have to Remain Closed
In March 2022, it was decided to reopen girls’ secondary schools, albeit the decision was short-lived, and the decision was overturned hours later
Only Primary Schools
In September 2022, a decree was issued barring women and girls from attending colleges, universities, and private tutoring institutions, added to the secondary schools that were already banned.
Three Years Later: An Indefinite Ban
