Restrictions barring Afghan women from higher education and prohibiting them from teaching boys are set to worsen an acute shortage of qualified teachers and further erode the quality of schooling across the country, UNESCO has warned.
Gendered restrictions squeeze classroom capacity
The UN cultural and education agency said the measures, introduced following the return of the Taliban to power, have already undone years of progress and will have long-lasting consequences for children's learning and the education workforce. UNESCO warned that Afghanistan faces a shortfall of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030, a gap that will be difficult to fill given concurrent migration and classroom disruption.
Five years after the change in governance, vast numbers of children remain outside school. UNESCO’s figures show that around 2.4 million girls cannot attend secondary education, while a further more than 2 million primary-aged children are out of school. The agency also reported that literacy and learning outcomes are extremely low: over 90% of 10-year-olds are unable to read a simple text and the national literacy rate stands at just 37%.
“Many teachers have left the country ... and those who were in the system are banned from continuing teaching,” said Hoda Jaberian, UNESCO’s programme coordinator for education in emergencies. “This decision to ban women from teaching boys has not only, of course, removed a substantial number of qualified teachers and educators from the education system, but it also resulted in boys being taught by unqualified male teachers. We are left with unqualified male teachers or no teachers at all.”
Schools strained by returnees and disasters
UNESCO highlighted additional pressures on an already fragile system. In 2025 alone approximately 3 million people returned to Afghanistan, either voluntarily or under compulsion, increasing demand for places and resources. Since 2021 natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods have forced the closure of around 1,000 schools.
The agency also noted infrastructural deficits: nearly half of schools lack adequate water, sanitation or heating, contributing to poor learning conditions and attendance challenges.
- Female exclusion from universities: women have been barred from higher education since December 2022.
- Teaching restrictions: women are not permitted to teach boys, removing many trained educators from the system.
- Workforce and economic impact: UNESCO projected that the ban could lead to the departure of 600,000 women from the workforce by 2066 and forecast $9.6 billion in cumulative income losses.
The cumulative effect is both an immediate staffing crisis and a long-term blow to human capital. With female teachers often essential for girls’ attendance — cultural norms in many communities require women to teach girls — the removal of women from higher education and teaching roles risks leaving female students with few or no acceptable learning options.
Implications for children and the labour market
UNESCO’s analysis links the education restrictions to broader social outcomes. Beyond immediate classroom shortages, the agency warned that limiting women’s educational and professional opportunities will reduce female participation in the labour market and raise the risk of early marriage. Those consequences would compound poverty and underdevelopment in the years ahead.
International agencies and rights groups have repeatedly urged the de facto authorities to reverse the measures and restore girls’ and women’s full access to education and employment in the sector. UNESCO’s figures underline how exclusion at the tertiary level cascades through the education system, affecting teacher supply, school quality and children’s fundamental learning rights.
| Indicator | UNESCO figure |
|---|---|
| Girls unable to attend secondary school | 2.4 million |
| Primary-school-aged children out of school | more than 2 million |
| Projected female teacher shortfall by 2030 | 11,000+ |
| 10‑year‑olds unable to read a simple text | over 90% |
| National literacy rate | 37% |
| Schools closed due to disasters since 2021 | 1,000 |
The UNESCO briefing sets out a stark picture: when a generation of potential teachers is blocked from university and from continuing in their roles, the ripple effects are felt in classrooms today and in the workforce of tomorrow. For pupils, parents and teachers in Afghanistan, the priority question remains whether those barriers can be removed in time to prevent permanent loss of education and livelihood opportunities.
