Implications of the U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan on Girls’ Education

Girls’ education in Afghanistan has faced a tumultuous history corresponding with long periods of instability.[1] Up until the fall of the Taliban rule in 2001, girls and women were severely restricted in their access to education.[2] Education was limited to girls under eight years old, and Taliban leaders regularly shut down girls’ schools.[3] In 2000, less than 10% of girls were attending any school.[4] Following the American take-over of the Taliban regime in 2001, enrollment in primary schools increased by over eight-fold,[5] with 40% of school age girls enrolled in school by 2018.[6] Education for all children is guaranteed under a number of international treaties recognized by Afghanistan.[7] Nonetheless, girls continued to face consistent barriers to their education, including threats of assault, bombing of their schools, and the homicide of their teachers.[8] In August, 2021, the United States withdrew its troops, leaving the Taliban to regain near complete control.[9] The implications this has on girls’ education are stark.

Upon seizing control, the Taliban halted all instruction during the transition period.[10] In mid-September, they announced that all primary school students, and male secondary students could return to school, thus effectively banning girls from attending secondary school in violation of the fundamental right to education.[11] Girls’ education has again become restricted to those under the age of twelve.[12] Within that, their access to educational resources are even further constrained. Girls are no longer allowed to attend schools with boys, and they are not allowed to be instructed by male teachers.[13] Yet, only 16% of schools are girls-only, and there is an existing female teacher shortage, especially in rural areas.[14]

The Taliban have indicated that women will be allowed to continue their higher education degrees, however, this comes with a number of caveats.[15] First, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs compound was converted into offices for the religious morality police.[16] Additionally, women will only be allowed to pursue higher education in gender-segregated settings, which limits their opportunities due to the minimal womens’ universities.[17] Finally, if girls are not allowed to pursue secondary education, the promise of higher education access becomes meaningless.[18]

There are numerous factors that have led to the oppression of girls’ education rights in Afghanistan.[19] The trend toward restricting education for prepubescent girls correlates with the rates of child marriage, as more than 50% of girls are married by the time they are 18.[20] Additionally, girls’ schools are more often the target of bombings, poisonings, gassings, and assaults, which deter girls from risking their lives for their education.

These conditions are further exacerbated under the Taliban regime. Afghanistan has an affirmative duty to ensure that all children have access to education under national and international law.[21] Although the Taliban agreed to provide informal schooling to 140,000 children, including girls, in a deal with UNICEF, they have yet to make good on their promises.[22] Their only comment on the matter is that girls will be able to attend school in line with Islamic law, however, they have failed to clarify what exactly that entails.[23] Now that they have regained near complete control over Afghanistan, without United States intervention, the future for girls’ education rights is being left unaddressed and unprioritized. Through the assistance of international organizations, Afghanistan must refocus its efforts under the Taliban by reopening schools and remedying learning losses due to nation-wide conflict in order to ensure the country’s sustainable development moving forward.[24]

Angelica Mehta is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLV.

This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.
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[1] ​​See Thomas Ruttig, Have the Taliban Changed?, 14 CTC Sentinel 1, 7 (2021), https://www.ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CTC-SENTINEL-032021.pdf. 

[2] See id.

[3] See id.

[4] See id. at 8.

[5] Carolyn Kissane, The Way Forward for Girls’ Education in Afghanistan, 13 Journal of International Women’s Studies 10, 14 (2012);

[6] See id.; Emma Batha, What will happen to girls’ education in Afghanistan under Taliban rule? Thomas Reuters Foundation News (October 11, 2021), https://news.trust.org/item/20210831110425-cvykj/.

[7] See UN General Assembly, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 20 November 1989, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577; UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993; UN General Assembly, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 18 December 1979, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249,

cited in Heather Barr, “I Won’t Be a Doctor, and One Day You’ll Be Sick” Human Rights Watch (Oct. 17, 2017) https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/10/17/i-wont-be-doctor-and-one-day-youll-be-sick/girls-access-education-afghanistan

[8] See Zafar Shayan, Gender Inequality in Education in Afghanistan: Access and Barriers, 5 Open Journal of Philosophy 277, 281-82 (2015).

[9] See Atefa Alizada & Amie Ferris-Rotman, The U.S. Is Leaving Afghanistan, the Taliban Is Growing in Power, and Education for Girls and Women Is Already at Risk, Time (July 7, 2021), https://time.com/6078072/afghanistan-withdrawal-taliban-girls-education/; See also Victor J. Blue & David Zucchino, A Harsh New Reality for Afghan Women and Girls in Taliban-Run Schools, N.Y. Times (Oct. 7, 2021), https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/20/world/asia/afghan-girls-schools-taliban.html.

[10] See Ezzatullah Mehrdad & Sammy Westfall, Taliban reopens high school for boys, but makes no mention of female students, Wash. Post (Sept. 17, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/17/afghanistan-girls-school-talibantaliban-reopens-high-school-boys-makes-no-mention-female-students/.

[11] See Emma Graham-Harrison, Taliban ban girls from secondary education in Afghanistan, The Guardian (Sept. 17, 2021), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/17/taliban-ban-girls-from-secondary-education-in-afghanistan; See also ANI, UNESCO, UNICEF say closed Afghan girls’ schools violates Fundamental Right to Education, Asian News Int’l (Sept. 20, 2021) https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/unesco-unicef-say-closed-afghan-girls-schools-violates-fundamental-right-to-education20210920031701/

[12] See Alizada & Ferris-Rotman, supra note 8.

[13] See id.; Batha, supra note 6.

[14] See Batha, supra note 6.

[15] See Graham-Harrison, supra note 11; See also Blu & Zucchino, supra note 9.

[16] See Blue & Zucchino, supra note 9. PARENTHETICAL CITE W/ RMP DEFINITION

[17] See Graham-Harrison, supra note 11.

[18] See id.

[19] See Shayan, supra note 7 at 278.

[20] See id. at 278, 281.

[21] See Barr, supra note 7.

[22] See Batha, supra note 6.

[23] See id.

[24] See UNESCO, UNESCO Sounds a Warning on What is at Stake for Education in Afghanistan (Oct. 9, 2021) https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-sounds-warning-what-stake-education-afghanistan