Published on: 2026-04-28
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Restrictions on education for girls and employment of women in Afghanistan could lead to a shortage of qualified personnel in the education and healthcare sectors. By 2030, the deficit of workers in these industries will exceed 25,000 people. This was warned on Tuesday by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
According to the agency, children are already losing access to education and medical care as a result of the restrictions. In addition, the country’s economy and key service systems, which depend on qualified specialists, are suffering.
According to the new UNISEF report, the proportion of women in the public service decreased from 21 percent to 17.7 percent during the period from 2023 to 2025.
Crisis in the field of education
More than one million girlsdeprived of the right to educationSince the de facto authorities – the Taliban movement – introduced the ban in September 2021. If the restrictions continue until 2030, more than two million girls will be deprived of the opportunity to study after finishing primary school in the country, where one of the lowest levels of literacy among women in the world is already observed.
“Afghanistan cannot afford to lose future teachers, nurses, doctors, midwives, and social workers who provide vital services. This is exactly what the further exclusion of girls from the education system will lead to,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“We call on the de facto authorities to lift the ban on secondary education for girls and address the international community with a call to continue supporting girls’ right to education,” she added.
Blow to vital services
According to the report, Afghanistan is facing a double crisis: the country is losing already trained specialists and at the same time cannot train a new generation. By 2030, the country may lose up to 20 thousand teachers and 5,400 medical workers.
The education system is already feeling the consequences of the crisis. The number of female teachers at the basic level has decreased by more than nine percent – from almost 73 thousand in 2022 to approximately 66 thousand in 2024. This threatens the education of children, especially girls, who are more likely to attend school and continue their studies when women work at the school.
Especially serious consequences may be for health care systems for injuries, where social norms often limit women’s ability to seek medical help from men. UNISEF warns that reducing the number of medical workers will directly reduce access to services in the field of maternal injuries, the health of newborns and children, and will exacerbate risks for women and children.
Economic potential
Restrictions on women and girls also annually cost Afghanistan 84 million dollars in lost economic benefits, and these losses will only grow, warns UNISEF.
“Depriving Afghan girls of access to secondary education, we deprive an entire country of its potential — condemning girls, their families, and communities to poverty, worsening health indicators, and suppressing economic potential” which could be unlocked by an educated generation of women,” Rassel emphasized.
UNICEF continues to support education in the country. In 2025, more than 3.7 million children in public schools received emergency assistance, and 442 thousand children – 66 percent of whom are girls – participated in a community-based learning program. In addition, the agency built or restored 232 schools.
Please note; this information is raw content obtained directly from an information source. It represents an exact report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.