UNESCO and UNICEF urge action to protect the right to education in Afghanistan
Joint Press Release – UNESCO and UNICEF in Afghanistan
Kabul, 24 January 2026
On the International Day of Education, UNESCO and UNICEF reaffirm that education is a fundamental human right and the foundation of peace, dignity, and opportunity for every child and young person.
Today, Afghanistan stands out tragically as the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is strictly forbidden to girls and women. As a result, 2.2 million adolescent girls have been banned from attending secondary school, severely limiting their future opportunities and the country’s development.
At the same time, Afghanistan faces a broader learning crisis: 93 per cent of children at the end of primary school are still working toward basic reading proficiency, underscoring the urgency of investing in early-grade literacy and numeracy.
Preliminary findings from research conducted in 2025 highlight that students perform significantly better in schools where a higher proportion of teachers have a university education, especially in language learning. The findings also show that female teachers demonstrate stronger content knowledge and are associated with better student learning outcomes, reinforcing the value of increasing the number of qualified women in the teaching workforce.
“When girls are denied access to education, an entire nation pays the price,” said Soohyun Kim, Officer in Charge, UNESCO Afghanistan. “Strengthening foundational learning and supporting women teachers are critical investments in Afghanistan’s recovery and resilience.”
“Afghanistan urgently needs female teachers, nurses, community health workers, and doctors,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan. “In a context where women can only be treated by women, who will care for sick girls and women in the future if they are denied education today?”
UNESCO and UNICEF continue to support a holistic approach to education recovery in Afghanistan. This includes rehabilitating schools, strengthening teacher capacity, expanding foundational learning, and supporting skills development for young people, particularly girls and women excluded from formal schooling.
On this International Day of Education, UNESCO and UNICEF call for urgent and collective action and investment in education to ensure full, safe, and inclusive access to learning for all.
For more information please contact:
UNICEF: Daniel Timme, UNICEF Afghanistan, +93 79 998 7110, [email protected]g
UNESCO: Zameer Safi, UNESCO Kabul, + 93783804343, [email protected]
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About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
UNICEF’s Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) works with UNICEF Country Offices in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to help to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfil their potential. For more information about UNICEF’s work for children in South Asia, visit www.unicef.org/rosa and follow UNICEF ROSA on Twitter and Facebook.
About UNESCO
With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2300 people.
“Since wars begin in the minds of women and men, it is in the minds of women and men that the defenses of peace must be constructed” – UNESCO Constitution, 1945.
For more information on UNESCO’s work to protect the right to education for all Afghans, please visit: https://www.unesco.org/en/emergencies/education/afghanistan
