Overview

• The fourth anniversary of the Taliban’s secondary school ban for girls passed with no policy reversal, and women remain excluded from universities.
• UNESCO estimates at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately deprived of schooling, while separate UN data put the number barred beyond primary school at more than 2.2 million.
• An Atlantic Council report reiterates that over one million girls have been pushed out of school since 2021.
• A UN Women door-to-door survey found more than 92% of Afghans consider it important for girls to continue their schooling.
• Human Rights Watch renewed calls for stronger international pressure, including support for recognizing gender apartheid, as families and NGOs sustain clandestine and remote learning despite Taliban assertions the issue is a domestic matter.