Before the Taliban’s oppressive education bans, 3 million of Afghanistan’s 9 million schoolchildren were girls.
This week marks three years since the Taliban banned secondary education for girls in Afghanistan. The patriarchal fundamentalist group has not only stripped girls of their basic right to education but also imposed other restrictions, imprisoning them in their homes and erasing them from public life entirely. Women and girls are now forbidden from even speaking in public, as their voices are considered intimate and must be concealed.
In Afghanistan, girls are prohibited from attending school beyond sixth grade. Earlier this month, the Taliban’s minister of education refused to hear further inquiries about the ban and imposed additional restrictions on broadcasting educational programs later that week.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, some Afghan organizations and media outlets have attempted to broadcast school curricula to girls confined to their homes via radio and television. However, recent restrictions imposed on the media in the Southeastern province of Khost have cut off educational opportunities further.
The Taliban justify their ban on women and girls’ education by invoking religion and culture—claims refuted by Muslim scholars worldwide, who argue they contradict Islamic teachings. In Islam, education is an obligation, and it is a duty to educate both boys and girls. Afghan women and girls, along with many others in the country, have also challenged the cultural justifications for the bans, stating that Afghan culture does not prohibit women and girls from education.
Data highlights the widespread disagreement with the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education.
- According to a 2019 survey from the Asia Foundation, just two years before the Taliban takeover, 87 percent of Afghan respondents said that girls should have access to education at all levels.
- A 2022 Gallup poll, post-Taliban takeover, shows only 11 percent of surveyed Afghans thought children in Afghanistan had the opportunity to learn and grow. Women were less satisfied with the quality of education provided for their children. Only 19 percent of all respondents reported being satisfied—the lowest level of satisfaction measured in any country.
Amidst a sea of protests and condemnation from Afghans and the international community, the Taliban has made no effort to change their demonstrable violations of women’s rights, and have instead increased their prohibitions against women and girls.
Under the Taliban regime, women in the education sector cannot teach boys, and they must wear all black and dress from head to toe. Female students as young as 10 years old have been subjected to puberty tests, in which principals or gunmen determine if they are to continue schooling. Any student who shows signs of puberty is expelled. The Taliban has also changed school curriculum for boys, adding more religious subjects and reducing science courses.
As more women face a lack of opportunities, the rates of child marriage, poverty and poor mental health in the country continue to rise. These dystopian changes are occurring at an alarming rate, following the many years of hard-fought progress to put women in schools and on the path to success.
Before the Taliban’s oppressive bans, 3 million of Afghanistan’s 9 million schoolchildren were girls. The future of Afghan women and girls hinges on collective international action. Allies must amplify the voices of Afghan women who continue to speak out despite facing life-threatening risks.
The international community holds power, and the past three years have proven that mere condemnation is not enough. Real action is essential to help Afghan girls return to school—because every child deserves that right.
To read more about the Taliban restrictions and the situation of women and girls, visit https://stopgenderapartheid.org/.
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