Approximately 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan remain barred from secondary education five years after the Taliban’s return to power, a UN agency has reported, leading to renewed calls for their right to study to be immediately restored.

Unesco, the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, warned that the sustained exclusion of female students amounts to a severe violation of fundamental rights.

Speaking at a video press conference, Unesco’s program coordinator for education in emergencies, Hoda Jaberian, said: "Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education." She noted: "Five years is not a temporary interruption in a child’s education. It is clearly almost an entire secondary school cycle."

Jaberian added: "Unesco continues to call for the immediate and unconditional restoration of girls and women's right to secondary and higher education. It is not negotiable. It’s a basic human right and we reiterate that there is no substitute for this."

The Taliban seized power on 15 August 2021 following the withdrawal of US and Nato forces after two decades of war.

Shortly after taking control, the administration blocked girls from secondary schools, later extending the ban to higher education, employment, and wider public life.

The regime has upheld these restrictions despite calls from the UN, aid agencies, human rights advocates, and several Islamic nations, claiming the rule is an internal matter.

Jaberian explained that these measures are wiping out two decades of educational advancement. While female school attendance was minimal in 2001, almost 1 million girls were enrolled in secondary education by 2021.

"Afghanistan had made really major progress in expanding girls’ access to education," Jaberian said. "But unfortunately, much of that progress now has been completely reversed."

Unesco continues to support learning across Afghanistan through community initiatives, literacy programmes, and skills training.

These classes take place in local spaces and facilitators' homes with the knowledge of authorities, supported by over 1,000 instructors trained by Unesco and its partners.

Jaberian stated: "While the restriction remains, we cannot abandon Afghan learners," adding: "Unesco work with communities and our partners from the communities to preserve every possible pathway to learning."