KABUL, Afghanistan — As the new academic year began on Saturday, girls above the sixth grade across Afghanistan remained barred from attending school, continuing a restriction imposed by the Taliban more than three years ago.
The Taliban-run Ministry of Education officially marked the start of the school year, allowing only boys and girls in primary grades to return to classrooms.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, more than 2.2 million Afghan girls have been excluded from secondary education since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 — including an estimated 400,000 newly affected students this year alone.
“This decision continues to harm the future of millions of Afghan girls,” UNICEF said in a statement, calling on the Taliban to lift the ban. “If this ban persists until 2030, over four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school. The consequences for these girls — and for Afghanistan — are catastrophic.”
Girls who had hoped to return to school expressed frustration and fear for their future.
“We were so excited for the new school year. We prepared for it, bought uniforms, and were eager to see our classmates. But all our dreams were crushed,” said Nabila, a student affected by the ban. “We are devastated. I still hope schools will reopen for us in the coming days.”
Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, also condemned the policy, describing it as “gender persecution.” In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, Bennett called for international accountability and urged the Taliban to ensure equal, accessible, and high-quality education for all.
It has now been 1,280 days since the Taliban first barred girls from secondary education — a move that has drawn global criticism, including from Muslim-majority nations.
UNICEF warned that continued restrictions will deepen the country’s humanitarian crisis and limit its long-term development, as millions of girls are denied their right to learn.
