Now Reading: UNESCO says Taliban barred 2.4 million Afghan girls from school
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UNESCO says Taliban barred 2.4 million Afghan girls from school
The Taliban have barred an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls from secondary education since their return to power in 2021, UNESCO said on Tuesday. Afghanistan is the only country where girls and…
The Story in Brief
The Taliban have barred an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls from secondary education since their return to power in 2021, UNESCO said on Tuesday. Afghanistan is the only country where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education. UNESCO warned the ban risks condemning Afghanistan to decades of lost potential and deepening poverty.
The ban could cause 600,000 Afghan women to leave the workforce by 2066 and lead to $9.6 billion in cumulative income losses, UNESCO estimates. The restrictions have also worsened a shortage of qualified female teachers. More than 2 million primary school children are already out of school for other reasons.
The Indian Opinion
The Taliban's claim that their ban on girls' education is a domestic matter ignores that they promised otherwise when they took power. The international community has offered appeals but little concrete pressure. The real test will be whether nations now expanding ties with the Taliban extract any commitment on reopening schools. Numbers will tell: will even one girl return to class this year?
Sources (2): economictimes.indiatimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
