{"id":40797,"date":"2026-08-12T12:26:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40797"},"modified":"2026-08-12T12:26:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T07:26:49","slug":"taliban-wipes-out-decades-of-progress-as-2-4m-afghan-girls-remain-locked-out-of-school-un-agency-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40797","title":{"rendered":"Taliban wipes out decades of progress as 2.4M Afghan girls remain locked out of school, UN agency says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fnewspress-collage-41cx2zej1-1786519022435.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261786504664\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Five years after the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/article\/who-are-the-taliban-and-what-are-they-planning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Taliban reclaimed\u00a0Afghanistan<\/a>, 2.4 million girls remain locked out of secondary school, wiping away decades of progress and leaving a generation of young women without access to the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Afghanistan is now the only country in the world that <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/16\/world-news\/taliban-legalizes-sickening-child-marriages-with-rules-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">formally prohibits girls and women from receiving an education<\/a> beyond the primary level, according to UNESCO, which issued a new call Tuesday for the \u201cimmediate and unconditional\u201d restoration of their right to education.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0United Nations\u00a0agency warned that the consequences of the Taliban\u2019s policies now reach far beyond the classroom, with women barred from most paid jobs and public-facing professions and facing restrictions on their ability to travel without a male guardian.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWomen have been erased from public life, and as a new generation of girls grows without an education, their future becomes increasingly dark,\u201d UNESCO said in a statement.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Afghan women and youths receive cash assistance from Taliban authorities and the anti-narcotics police department in Herat on May 24, 2026.  <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Taliban swept back into power on Aug. 15, 2021, as\u00a0US and NATO forces withdrew\u00a0from Afghanistan after two decades of war.<\/p>\n<p>The Taliban soon barred girls from secondary schools and later expanded the restrictions to universities, employment and other areas of public life.<\/p>\n<p>Despite years of pressure from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, human rights advocates and several\u00a0Islamic countries, the Taliban has refused to lift the education restrictions and has maintained that the issue is a domestic matter, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Afghan refugee children attend a class at Estiqlal Lycee High School in Islamabad on Oct. 30, 2023.  <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The impact has been a dramatic reversal of the educational gains made by Afghan girls during the previous two decades.<\/p>\n<p>While girls had severely limited access to schooling in 2001, nearly 1 million were enrolled in secondary education by 2021, according to UNESCO.<\/p>\n<p>Five years later, an estimated 2.4 million girls are excluded from secondary education.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive years is not a temporary interruption in a child\u2019s education,\u201d Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO\u2019s program coordinator for education in emergencies, said during a video news conference Tuesday, according to The AP. \u201cIt is clearly almost an entire secondary school cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>A Taliban personnel stands guard as Afghan men gather to offer funeral prayers for Pakistani airstrike victims at\u00a0Mani village in Spera district, Khost province on June 10, 2026.  <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>UNESCO warned that denying education to girls while restricting women\u2019s ability to work could deepen Afghanistan\u2019s already severe economic problems.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly half of Afghanistan\u2019s population lives below the poverty line, according to UNESCO, which said preventing women from studying and working further limits their ability to support their families and contribute to the country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<p>The agency also warned that excluding girls from school can damage their\u00a0mental and physical well-being\u00a0and increase the risk of early marriage.<\/p>\n<p>The effects could also reach Afghan boys.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Afghan schoolchildren attend classes underneath a tent in Ghazni on Sept. 15, 2013. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>UNESCO said the Taliban\u2019s ban on\u00a0female teachers\u00a0teaching boys is worsening teacher shortages and undermining the quality of education across Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>With formal secondary and higher education closed to women and girls, UNESCO says it has turned to community-based education, literacy and skills development programs and psychosocial support to keep them learning.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 70,000 people have participated in UNESCO\u2019s programs, with women accounting for 73% of the learners, according to the agency.<\/p>\n<p>Some literacy and skills classes take place in community spaces and in the homes of facilitators with the knowledge of authorities, according to The AP. More than 1,000 literacy facilitators are involved, most of whom have been trained by UNESCO and its partners.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Afghan female midwives and nurses checking the documents of pregnant women at a private hospital in Kabul on Dec. 10, 2024. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>UNESCO said a recent study found evidence that its literacy and skills programs have helped increase household incomes and improve livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p>The agency acknowledged, however, that such efforts cannot replace formal schooling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfghanistan\u2019s girls and women have the right to learn, to work, to move freely, and to shape their own futures,\u201d UNESCO said, adding that \u201cthe world must not look away until their human rights are restored.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>UNESCO said it would continue working with local communities and partners to maintain alternative opportunities for Afghan women and girls while pressing for the education ban to be lifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUNESCO continues to call for the immediate and unconditional restoration of girls and women\u2019s right to secondary and higher education,\u201d Jaberian said Tuesday. \u201cIt is not negotiable. It\u2019s a basic human right and we reiterate that there is no substitute for this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five years after the Taliban reclaimed\u00a0Afghanistan, 2.4 million girls remain locked out of secondary school, wiping away decades of progress and leaving a generation of young women without access to the classroom. Afghanistan is now the only country in the world that formally prohibits girls and women from receiving an education beyond the primary level,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/newspress-collage-41cx2zej1-1786519022435.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1786504664&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}