A new analysis from UNICEF, The cost of inaction on girls’ education and women’s labor force participation in Afghanistanfound that female representation in public service fell from 21 percent to 17.7 percent between 2023 and 2025.
Girls blocked
More than a million girls have been denied the right to learn since Taliban authorities banned girls from secondary education in September 2021.
If that remains in force until 2030, More than two million girls will have been deprived of education. beyond primary school in a country that already has one of the lowest female literacy rates in the world.
“Afghanistan cannot afford to lose future teachers, nurses, doctors, midwives and social workersthat support essential services. This will be the reality if girls continue to be excluded from education,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“We urge de facto authorities to lift the ban on secondary education for girls and call on the international community to remain committed to supporting girls’ right to learn.”
Essential services at risk
The report says Afghanistan faces a double crisis: Losing skilled professional women and preventing the next generation from replacing them.
According to the analysis, by 2030, the country could lose up to 20,000 female teachers and 5,400 health workers.
The education sector is already feeling the impact. The number of teachers in basic education fell by more than nine percentfrom almost 73,000 in 2022 to around 66,000 in 2024.
The decline threatens the learning of children, especially girls, who are more likely to attend and stay in school when teachers are present.
Health impact
The impact could be especially severe in healthcare, where social norms often prevent women from receiving medical services from men.
UNICEF warned that fewer female health workers would directly reduce access to maternal, newborn and child health services, putting women and children at greater risk.
Restrictions are also imposed on the education and work of girls and women. costs Afghanistan $84 million each year in lost economic outputand losses are expected to increase as women and girls remain locked out of classrooms and jobs.
UNICEF continues to support the education of children across the country. In 2025, more than 3.7 million public school children received emergency support, while 442,000 children (66 percent of them girls) benefited from community-based learning initiatives.
The agency has also built or rehabilitated 232 schools.
“Denying Afghan girls access to secondary education deprives an entire nation of its potential, locking girls, their families and their communities in poverty, weakening health outcomes and silencing the economic engine that an educated generation of women could ignite,” Ms Russell said.