A United Nations agency says around 2.4 million Afghan girls are still excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban returned to power. The agency urges the Taliban administration to immediately restore girls’ right to education, calling the restrictions a serious violation of fundamental rights.
UN-linked reporting focuses on the ongoing scale of the denial and the duration since the 2021 takeover. Outlets also note that Taliban authorities impose limits on education for women and girls, initially restricting access to secondary schooling and later extending barriers to higher education. Some coverage describes the policy as discrimination against women and girls, while others emphasize the need to lift restrictions to end the exclusion.
While all accounts cite the same UN figure and timing, phrasing varies across outlets—some use “shut out,” others “banned” or “barred”—and some include broader UN characterizations of the restrictions as part of a wider pattern of gender-based policies under Taliban rule. The core message across sources remains the same: access to secondary school for girls is still not restored.
