Unesco: 1.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been excluded from school since 2021
2.5 million girls, 80% of school-aged girls, are denied the right to education in Afghanistan, UNESCO reports. Access to primary education has significantly declined. In 2022, 5.7 million boys and girls attended primary school, compared to 6.8 million in 2019. UNESCO is alarmed and warns of an increase in child labor and early marriages.
The Taliban have "undone nearly two decades of progress in education in Afghanistan in just three years," it said. "The future of an entire generation is now at risk."
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay called on the international community to ensure that schools and universities for Afghan girls and women reopen unconditionally. Afghanistan is the only country in the world that prohibits girls and women from attending secondary schools and universities.
After decades of military presence, international troops withdrew from Afghanistan in spring 2021. The Taliban quickly took control of much of the country, captured the capital Kabul on August 15, 2021, and declared an Islamic Emirate. The anniversary was celebrated nationwide by the rulers on Wednesday with military parades and gatherings.
Since taking power, the Taliban have been implementing their strict interpretation of Islam with harsh laws, particularly restricting women's rights. Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada reaffirmed his commitment to implementing Sharia on the anniversary: "Serving religion and ruling according to Sharia is our lifelong responsibility," he said on an airbase in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
"We will implement Allah's religion and Sharia for us and others as long as we live," Akhundzada, who rarely appears in public, said in his speech, published by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Wednesday evening on the X service.
Meanwhile, 55 aid organizations in Germany called on the federal government to continue the federal resettlement program for Afghanistan, threatened by planned budget cuts. The program, initiated in October 2022, aims to permanently resettle particularly vulnerable Afghan women and men in Germany for humanitarian reasons.
Up to 1,000 people were initially planned to be resettled per month. However, only 540 people have entered Germany through the resettlement program as of July 2024, activists say. Media reports suggest that the coalition plans to significantly cut funds for the program next year.
The Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, reaffirmed his commitment to implementing Sharia law in Afghanistan, stating, "We will implement Allah's religion and Sharia for us and others as long as we live." Due to the Taliban's strict adherence to Sharia law, girls and women in Afghanistan continue to be denied access to secondary schools and universities, as the country remains the only one in the world with such a ban.
