Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 08:29 pm
Kabul, Afghanistan – The Taliban have kept at least 1.4 million Afghan girls out of secondary school since their takeover in 2021, posing a threat to the futures of an entire generation of girls, a new report from UNESCO says. Access to primary education also saw a sharp decline, with 1.1 million fewer children enrolled in school, according to the agency.
Growing Concerns of Increased Dropouts
UNESCO expressed serious concerns on the grim implications of the rising dropouts that could translate into child labour and early marriages. The Agency announced that nearly two decades of steady education gains in Afghanistan had been wiped out in just three years and that the future of an entire generation was at risk.
2.5 Million Afghan Girls Denied Education
UNESCO estimates that as many as 2.5 million Afghan girls have lost their right to education, 80 percent of the girls of school age in the country. Afghanistan is the only country in the world today where girls and women are being denied access to secondary schools and universities.
Girls Excluded
At least 1.4 million girls have intentionally been denied access to secondary education because of the bans led by the de facto authorities since 2021. That is an increase of 300,000 girls since UNESCO’s last assessment in April 2023.
Call for International Action
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay asked the international community to be vigilant and to continue advocating with the de facto authorities for the unconditional reopening of schools and universities for Afghan girls and women.
Decline in Primary School Enrollment
The report also took note, in concern, the decline in enrollment of children into primary schools. It is estimated that 5.7 million Afghan girls and boys enrolled in primary schools in 2022, compared with 6.8 million in 2019. This is attributed to the Taliban ban on female teachers from teaching boys, reducing the incentive for parents to send children to school.
Alarm Over Higher Education
No less astonishing is the situation in the university, which has seen a fall in students enrolling by 53 percent since 2021. “This will soon result in a critical shortage of graduates qualified for highly-skilled jobs, further exacerbating Afghanistan’s development challenges,” warned UNESCO.
