UNESCO Director-General expresses deep concern over exclusion of girls from Afghan schools

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has expressed deep concern over the announcement made in Afghanistan to gradually reopen secondary schools for boys and their male teachers only, leaving girls and women behind.

UNESCO said, such a move will be violation of the fundamental right to education for girls and women.

UNESCO has called on those responsible for this announcement to clarify the situation and reopen schools for all Afghan students, boys and girls alike.

UNESCO said, its commitment to Afghan children is unequivocal, and its collective responsibility is to ensure that the fundamental right to education for each and every



one of them is fully realized.

According to a report, Afghanistan has made significant gains in education over the past twenty years particularly for girls and women. 

Since 2001, the female literacy rate almost doubled from 17 per cent to 30 per cent; the number of girls in primary school increased from almost zero in 2001 to 2.5 million in 2018.

The number of girls in higher education increased from around 5,000 in 2001 to around 90,000 in 2018. 

The percentage of female teachers increased from 27 per cent in 2007 to 36 per cent in 2018.