The United Nations has warned that the ban on secondary education for girls for a third year in a row will have generational consequences. The statement comes as the new academic year begins in Afghanistan, with secondary and higher education institutions still closed to women for yet another year under the Taliban rule. Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, stated that Afghan girls must return to school with the start of the new school year, and depriving them of access to education is a clear violation of their rights. According to a UN Women report, since August 2021, the Taliban have systematically dismantled women and girls’ access to education in Afghanistan, enforcing increasingly dire restrictions.

Girls were first banned from secondary schools in March 2022, followed by a suspension from universities in December of the same year. By January 2023, the Taliban further deepened its oppressive grip by prohibiting girls from taking university entrance exams. In 2024, a UN Women report on Afghanistan showed that 1.1 million secondary school-aged girls are out of school. While primary schools remain open for girls, enrollment has dropped because of social norms, access issues, and safety concerns. It has been projected that the Afghan economy will lose 9.6 billion dollars by 2066 if the suspension of women’s access to higher education remains in place.