BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) has called on Afghanistan’s Taliban regime to unconditionally end its restrictions on girls’ education, expressing concern over the continued deterioration of women’s and girls’ rights in the country.
Speaking at the 225th session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the speakers highlighted that Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls are barred from formal education beyond the sixth grade, with more than 2.2 million girls affected by the ban.
“The EU remains concerned about the further deterioration of the rights of women and girls in 2026 and the fact that Afghanistan is the only country where girls are denied formal education beyond grade six,” the bloc said in a statement.
It also called for the “unconditional reversal of these discriminatory policies”.
The European Union has called for the unconditional reversal of the Taliban’s discriminatory policies against women and girls in Afghanistan, condemning widespread human rights violations and severe gender-based discrimination under the group’s rule.
In a statement published on the EU’s website, the bloc said the Taliban’s restrictions had significantly worsened the situation of women and girls by severely limiting their participation in public life and denying them fundamental human rights, including access to education, employment and freedom of movement.
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The EU welcomed UNESCO’s efforts to provide alternative learning opportunities for Afghan women and girls but stressed that such initiatives could not replace formal, inclusive and quality education.
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The restrictions have disrupted the education and future prospects of millions of Afghan girls since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Many students have been forced to abandon their academic ambitions, while opportunities to continue learning remain severely limited.
Ummul Banin Haidari, an Afghan student who was in the eleventh grade when the restrictions were imposed, said she might be able to continue her education elsewhere, but girls deprived of schooling from the sixth grade onwards faced far greater difficulties.
Over the past five years, the international community and regional countries have repeatedly urged the Taliban authorities to lift the restrictions on girls’ secondary education.
However, the ban remains in place, denying millions of Afghan girls access to education beyond primary school.
