UNAMA Urges Lifting of Education Curbs on Afghan Girls as Afghanistan Marks ICT Day

KABUL – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has called on the Taliban to lift all restrictions on girls’ education, issuing the appeal as Afghanistan marks International Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day. The annual observance, held on April 23, is intended to promote equal access to digital skills yet UNAMA noted that Afghan girls have now been denied formal schooling for over 1,600 days.

In a statement released on Wednesday, UNAMA expressed renewed concern over the widening generational impact of the bans. More than four years after the Taliban regained power, an entire generation of Afghan girls remains excluded from secondary and higher education, severely limiting their future opportunities for employment, economic independence, and civic participation.

The mission stressed that education particularly in ICT is not a privilege but a critical foundation for Afghanistan’s long-term stability, innovation, and self-reliance. “Excluding half of the country’s youth from digital literacy and technical training is a direct blow to the nation’s development prospects,” the statement read.

Humanitarian agencies warn that the continued restrictions on female education risk deepening poverty, weakening economic resilience, and entrenching gender inequality. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that returning Afghan women and girls face major barriers not only in education but also in accessing essential healthcare, legal aid, and livelihood support all of which are interconnected with basic literacy and digital skills.

Aid groups on the ground say the bans have triggered a cascading crisis. Disrupted schooling has led to reduced healthcare access, as female health workers cannot be trained at sufficient numbers. Economic vulnerability has spiked, particularly among women-led households, who are often barred from even the most basic forms of formal employment or digital banking.

Despite sustained international pressure, including diplomatic engagements and public condemnations from human rights bodies, the Taliban have maintained and in some cases deepened limits on girls’ education. While a small number of girls continue to attend primary schools, secondary and university-level classes remain largely closed to female students in most provinces.

UNAMA reiterated that reopening schools and expanding access to technical and digital education for women and girls is not only a matter of rights but a prerequisite for Afghanistan’s recovery, urging the de facto authorities to reverse course without further delay.

Our Pashto-Dari Website

  Donate Here