Kabul — Thursday, August 15, 2024—A United Nations agency revealed today that the Taliban’s education bans have deliberately deprived 1.4 million Afghan girls of schooling, exacerbating the country’s educational crisis. Afghanistan remains the only nation in the world with active bans on female secondary and higher education.

Since the Taliban’s rise to power in August 2021, girls above the sixth grade have been barred from attending school under the regime’s interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. The restrictions have been imposed solely on girls, while boys continue their education uninterrupted. The Taliban has shown no sign of reversing these bans.

UNESCO’s recent report highlighted that the number of girls deprived of secondary education has increased by 300,000 since April 2023, with more girls reaching the age limit of 12 each year. This brings the total number of girls out of school to nearly 2.5 million, representing 80% of Afghan school-age girls.

The situation has also worsened for younger students. According to UNESCO data, 1.1 million fewer children, both girls and boys, are attending primary school compared to 2021. In 2022, Afghanistan had 5.7 million children enrolled in primary school, down from 6.8 million in 2019. The drop is partly due to the Taliban’s decision to bar female teachers from teaching boys, as well as economic pressures discouraging parents from sending their children to school.

UNESCO warned that these developments have nearly erased two decades of educational progress in Afghanistan, jeopardizing the future of an entire generation. The agency expressed deep concern over the rising dropout rates, fearing they could lead to an increase in child labor and early marriages.

Despite the dire situation, the Taliban, who recently marked three years of rule at Bagram Air Base, have yet to address the nation’s growing hardships or offer solutions to aid the struggling population. Afghanistan remains mired in conflict, with millions facing hunger and unemployment, compounding the challenges for its citizens, especially its youth.

Attempts to reach the Taliban for comment have so far been unsuccessful. (AP)