UNESCO warns Afghanistan education bans will further weaken schools

In Afghanistan, there is a rule that stops girls and women from continuing school after primary level, and they are not allowed to go to university or teach boys.

This rule began after the Taliban came back to power in 2021.

UNESCO is a group that helps countries with education, and it says this rule is making schools worse.

Many good female teachers have left the country or are not allowed to teach, so boys are often taught by teachers who are not trained.

UNESCO says more than 2.4 million teenage girls cannot go to secondary school, and over 2 million younger children are not in school either.

It also says more than 90 out of every 100 ten-year-olds cannot read a simple text.

Many schools are crowded, and nearly half do not have clean water, toilets, or heating.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world that officially stops girls and women from learning after primary school.

UNESCO worries that without education, many women cannot get jobs, and the whole country suffers.