UNESCO stresses right to education for Afghan girls — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): UNESCO has called for the immediate restoration of education for women and girls in Afghanistan, saying around 2.4 million girls in the country are deprived of secondary education in 2026. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are formally barred from education beyond the primary level. According to the statement, the restrictions have reversed two decades of progress in expanding girls’ access to education. UNESCO said that while girls’ access to education was severely limited in 2001, nearly one million girls were enrolled in secondary schools by 2021. The organization described the exclusion of women and girls from education as a “serious violation of their fundamental right to learn” and warned that continued restrictions could lead to decades of lost human potential, increased poverty and irreversible harm to Afghanistan. UNESCO said that, with nearly half of Afghanistan’s population living below the poverty line, restrictions on women’s education and employment also reduce their ability to support their families and contribute to the country’s economic future. The organization said the restrictions on education continue to have negative effects on the mental and physical health of women and girls and increase the risk of early marriage. UNESCO also said the…