UNESCO Says 2.4 Million Afghan Girls Still Barred From Secondary School
On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, UNESCO said an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education in Afghanistan.[1]
UNESCO said Afghanistan is currently the only country where girls and women are formally banned from both secondary and higher education.[1] It said the Taliban barred girls from secondary school soon after seizing power on August 15, 2021, and later extended restrictions to higher education and employment.[1]
By 2021 nearly 1 million Afghan girls were enrolled in secondary school, a level of progress UNESCO says has now been largely reversed.[1] UNESCO said it is running community-based literacy and skills programs in Afghanistan, using more than 1,000 locally trained facilitators to keep some education going.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, UNESCO said an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education.
- UNESCO said Afghanistan is currently the only country where girls and women are formally banned from both secondary and higher education.
- The Taliban barred girls from secondary school soon after seizing power on August 15, 2021, later extending restrictions to higher education and employment.
- By 2021 nearly 1 million Afghan girls were enrolled in secondary school, progress UNESCO says has now been largely reversed.
- UNESCO is running community-based literacy and skills programs in Afghanistan, using more than 1,000 locally trained facilitators to keep some education going.
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