Afghanistan’s education crisis is not limited to one university or one set of campus rules. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, restrictions on girls and women have become the defining feature of the system, while enrolment, teaching capacity and learning outcomes have deteriorated more broadly.
Girls and women remain excluded
Afghanistan is currently the only country in the world where girls and women are formally barred from secondary and higher education. UNESCO and UNICEF reported in January 2026 that around 2.2 million adolescent girls were excluded from secondary school.
Women have also been barred from universities since December 2022, cutting off higher education for more than 100,000 female students and weakening institutions that had already lost staff and income.
The crisis also affects boys and institutions
UNESCO has reported falling higher-education enrolment among men as well as severe financial pressure on private universities. The wider school system is also struggling with low literacy outcomes, poverty, damaged infrastructure and shortages of qualified teachers.
Reports of ideological controls, restrictions on curriculum and pressure around behaviour and appearance form part of that environment, but claims about specific punishments or campus rules should be attributed to documented reporting rather than presented as universal practice across every institution.
Why the consequences extend beyond education
Removing girls and women from education reduces the future supply of teachers, health workers and other skilled professionals. It also places financial pressure on universities and limits the country’s ability to rebuild professional capacity.
The most reliable picture comes from organisations that continue to document the system directly, including UNESCO and UNICEF. Their reporting shows a structural education emergency rather than a temporary disruption.
