UN SAYS 2.4 MILLION AFGHAN GIRLS BARRED FROM SECONDARY SCHOOL

Approximately 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan are prevented from attending secondary school, according to UNESCO, the United Nations cultural and education agency. The figure represents an increase of 200,000 girls denied access since the previous year's count, UNESCO stated on Tuesday. The agency projects that the number could approach four million by 2030 if the ban remains in place. UNESCO called for the immediate restoration of girls' right to education and condemned what it described as discriminatory policy.

Afghanistan remains the only country globally to prohibit girls and women from attending secondary schools and universities. The Taliban administration barred girls from secondary education in March 2022, followed by a ban on women attending universities in December that year, months after returning to power following the end of the 20-year US-led military presence. The Taliban government has also prohibited women from teaching boys, a restriction UNESCO says has created a shortfall of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers projected by 2030. The Taliban administration has rejected international calls to lift the education ban, describing the policy as an internal matter.

UNESCO noted that the education restrictions compound existing systemic challenges within Afghanistan's school system. Nearly half of all schools lack water, sanitation or heating facilities, whilst natural disasters have forced approximately one thousand schools to close over five years. At primary level, more than two million children remain out of school, and UNESCO reported that 90 per cent of 10-year-olds cannot read simple text, with national literacy at 37 per cent. The UN has characterised the Taliban's restrictions on women as constituting "gender apartheid".