KABUL, Afghanistan — As Afghanistan enters its third consecutive academic year under Taliban rule without girls in classrooms beyond sixth grade, U.N. Women called the continued ban on girls’ education a “grave injustice.”
In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, March 26, the agency condemned the exclusion of girls from schools for a third straight year since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
“Schools have reopened in Afghanistan — but without girls. For the third consecutive year, girls are being denied their right to education. This is a grave injustice,” the statement read.
The start of the new school year has once again brought fresh waves of disappointment for Afghan girls, many of whom say their futures feel increasingly uncertain under the prolonged restrictions.
“For us, these last three years have felt like a bitter nightmare,” said Bushra, a student from Badghis Province. “All hope has been taken from us. The future is so unclear. No one can guarantee anything. We’re suffering under a form of discrimination we didn’t cause.”
Narges, another student from the same province, said she had dreamed of starting seventh grade this year, but the Taliban’s policies had shattered that hope.
“I want to become a doctor. But if I cannot continue my studies, my parents may be forced to migrate to neighboring countries — and they don’t welcome Afghans there,” she said.
The organization Education Cannot Wait, a global fund for education in emergencies, also voiced support for Afghan girls in a post on X, praising their persistence in the face of the ban.
“Under the moonlit sky, I drowned myself in books for knowledge,” the group quoted one Afghan girl as saying. “Now I proudly share what I’ve learned and promote education and equality among the girls in our village.”
According to U.N. figures, some 400,000 additional girls have been blocked from attending school this year alone. Since the Taliban’s return to power, more than 2.2 million school-aged girls have been excluded from formal education across the country.
Despite mounting international pressure, the Taliban have continued to enforce sweeping restrictions on women and girls, barring them from high school and university, most forms of employment, and public spaces. The group has offered no timeline or roadmap for restoring education access for girls.
