Afghanistan: Exclusion By Decree
Benefsha was nineteen when Afghanistan’ s government fell.
She is 25 now, a mother of two, and has spent the entire span of the Taliban ' s return teaching fifth grade in a village outside Kabul. When her husband proposed they start a business together to raise the family ' s income, she turned him down and stayed in the classroom.
" She chose to remain in education, because she believed teaching children was her true calling," says Benefsha’ s husband. " I have seen the positive impact she has made in the lives of so many children."
Benefsha is one of a shrinking number of women still able to serve as role models for the next generation of Afghan girls. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are barred from secondary and higher education.³ As a result, more than 2.2 million adolescent girls are currently out of school. ⁴ In April 2026, UNICEF estimated that these restrictions are already costing Afghanistan approximately $ 84 million annually, roughly half a percent of the country ' s GDP. ⁵
But the true cost cannot be measured in dollars alone. Education systems depend on continuity: today ' s students become tomorrow ' s teachers, nurses, doctors, and community leaders. When girls are prevented from continuing their education, that pipeline begins to break down.
UNICEF projects that by 2030 Afghanistan could lose up to 20,000 women teachers and 5,400 health workers, professionals whose absence will be felt in classrooms, clinics, and communities across the country. ⁶ Already, the number of women teaching in basic education has fallen by more than 9 %, from nearly 73,000 in 2022 to around 66,000 in 2024. ⁷
Benefsha( left) pursues ongoing teacher training
Which brings us back to Benefsha. In a country that segregates classrooms, a girl who has no woman to teach her has no teacher at all.
Every woman who leaves the profession closes a door behind her. Yet there is reason for hope. Nine in 10 Afghans support girls ' secondary education. ⁸ The ban reflects the policies of the Taliban, not the aspirations of the Afghan people. It is also why community-based education programs remain so important. Where learning opportunities still exist, families continue to embrace them. Parents keep sending their daughters to class, teachers like Benefsha keep showing up, and communities continue investing in their children ' s futures despite the obstacles placed in their way.
Pakistan: Exclusion By Omission
Between 25 and 26 million Pakistani children are out of school, roughly 38 % of all school-age children. In Balochistan, three out of four girls do not attend school at all. ⁹ Although the government declared an education emergency in 2024, public spending on education moved in the opposite direction, falling to approximately 0.8 % of GDP, a historic low.¹ ⁰
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