UNESCO Warns Afghanistan Risks Losing a Generation of Skilled Professionals

DID Press: Afghanistan risks losing an entire generation of future teachers, doctors, healthcare workers and other skilled professionals if girls and women continue to be denied access to secondary and higher education, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has warned.

Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO’s Programme Coordinator for Education in Emergencies, stressed that Afghanistan cannot afford to lose another generation of learners.

She called for girls and women to be allowed to return to educational institutions, the country’s education system to be strengthened, and all children to be guaranteed access to quality education.

According to a United Nations report published in November, the Taliban’s education restrictions have so far deprived approximately 2.4 million girls of secondary education. No girls enrolled in universities in 2026.

After returning to power in 2021, the Taliban barred girls from attending school beyond Grade 6. In December 2022, the authorities also closed universities to women. The restrictions were extended to medical education institutions in December 2024.