KABUL, Afghanistan — Nearly 400,000 additional Afghan girls have been denied access to education with the start of the new academic year, bringing the total number of girls out of school in Afghanistan to 2.2 million, the United Nations Children’s Fund said this week.
In a statement marking the third anniversary of the Taliban’s ban on secondary education for girls, Catherine Russell, the executive director of UNICEF, warned that the ongoing prohibition threatens the future of millions of Afghan children and poses severe long-term consequences for the country.
“If this ban persists until 2030, over four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school,” Russell said. “The consequences for these girls — and for Afghanistan — are catastrophic.”
She added that the impact of the policy extends beyond the classroom, with ripple effects on the country’s health care system, economy and social fabric. Without access to education, girls face a higher risk of early marriage, which has serious implications for their physical and mental health.
Russell warned that a lack of educated women will lead to a critical shortage of female medical professionals in the years to come — a gap that could cost thousands of lives.
“With fewer female doctors and midwives, girls and women will not receive the care they need,” she said. “We estimate an additional 1,600 maternal deaths and more than 3,500 infant deaths. These are not just numbers — they are lives lost and families shattered.”
UNICEF has continued to operate community-based education programs in Afghanistan, reaching some 445,000 children despite the restrictions, 64 percent of whom are girls, according to Russell. The agency is also supporting the training of female teachers to serve as role models and advocates for girls’ education.
Russell called on the Taliban to lift the ban “immediately,” saying that the cost of continued exclusion will be borne for generations.
“If these capable, bright young girls continue to be denied an education, then the repercussions will last for generations,” she said. “Afghanistan cannot leave half of its population behind.”
She reaffirmed UNICEF’s “unwavering” commitment to Afghan children, both girls and boys.
