2.4 million Afghan girls banned from schools 5 years after Taliban takeover, UN says

Around 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the United Nations said on Tuesday, urging an end to such “discrimination”.The Taliban administration, recognised solely by Russia, has imposed a series of restrictions on women that the United Nations has characterised as “gender apartheid”.Girls cannot study beyond primary school, a policy the Taliban authorities justify based on their interpretation of Islamic law.The number of girls denied access to secondary school has risen by 200,000 since last year and could reach nearly four million by 2030 if the ban persists, said the UN’s education and heritage body Unesco.Unesco called for the immediate restoration of their right to education and condemned the “discriminations against women and girls”.The Taliban government – which promised a softer rule after retaking power in August 2021 – has imposed sweeping restrictions on women, banning them from universities, public parks, gyms and beauty salons.Girls were barred from secondary schools in March 2022, with universities closed to young women later that year.