UNICEF has warned that if Taliban restrictions on women’s work and education continue, Afghanistan could lose 20,000 female teachers and 5,400 female health workers over the next four years, by 2030.
According to the report, since the Taliban banned girls from studying beyond the sixth grade in 2021, one million girls have been directly deprived of education—this in a country that already has one of the lowest female literacy rates in the world.
The report, released yesterday, added that if these restrictions continue until 2030, more than two million girls will be deprived of education beyond the primary level.
UNICEF stressed that restrictions on women’s education and employment are costing Afghanistan’s economy $84 million annually.
By 2035, Afghanistan could lose up to 9,600 female health workers.
