UN Rapporteur Condemns Afghanistan’s Ban on Female Education as New School Year Begins

As Afghanistan marks the start of a new school year, the United Nations’ top human rights official for the country has issued a stark condemnation of the Taliban’s continued prohibition on education for girls and women.

Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, used the occasion of Nowruz the Persian New Year to highlight what he called an “unacceptable” reality. In a post on X on Sunday, March 22, Bennett noted that while many across the region celebrate a time of renewal, Afghanistan stands alone in beginning another academic year with systemic gender-based educational exclusion.

“Nowruz Mubarak to all who celebrate! I note that only #Afghanistan this marks the beginning of another school year in which girls beyond 6th grade will not be allowed to continue education at school & women will not be able to attend university,” Bennett wrote. “Unacceptable & must be reversed!”

Bennett emphasized that the restrictions apply universally, barring not only adolescent girls from secondary education but also all women from university-level studies. His call to the Taliban authorities was unequivocal: lift these restrictions immediately.

A Setback Decades in the Making

Since regaining control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban has systematically dismantled progress in female education. The current policies mark a dramatic reversal from the two decades prior, when Afghanistan experienced one of the fastest-growing rates of female literacy and enrollment in the region. By 2021, millions of girls were attending schools across the country, and women were increasingly visible in universities, public office, and the workforce.

Today, those gains have been erased. In addition to the bans on secondary and higher education, the Taliban has imposed a sweeping range of edicts that restrict women’s mobility, employment, and public presence—measures that the UN has labeled “gender apartheid.”

Broader Implications for Afghanistan and the World

International organizations and human rights groups have consistently warned that denying education to girls and women carries profound consequences beyond individual futures. Studies show that educating girls leads to improved public health, reduced child mortality, greater economic productivity, and enhanced social stability. For Afghanistan, already grappling with a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse, the exclusion of half its population from education threatens to deepen poverty and instability.

Globally, access to education for girls is recognized as a fundamental human right and a key driver of sustainable development. Afghanistan’s ongoing restrictions have drawn widespread condemnation from the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and numerous world governments, all of which have called for the bans to be reversed.

The international community continues to press for immediate action, stressing that restoring educational opportunities for Afghan women and girls is not only a moral imperative but also essential for the country’s long-term recovery and prospects for reintegration into the global community. However, with the new school year now underway and the bans still firmly in place, advocates warn that another generation of Afghan girls is being systematically deprived of its future.

 

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