| “For the last twenty years, the UN has sought to place girls’ and women’s rights at the heart of the sustainable development of Afghanistan. The results of this global mobilization have been spectacular, especially in the field of education where UNESCO has worked closely with Afghanistan. Over the course of two decades, the country saw a tenfold increase in enrolment at all education levels, from around 1 million students in 2001 to around 10 million in 2018. In 2001, practically no girls attended primary school; in August 2021, 4 in 10 primary pupils were girls. Meanwhile, the number of women in higher education increased almost 20 times between 2001 and 2018, resulting in one in three university students being a woman. The female literacy rate almost doubled, jumping from 17% in 2011 to 30% in 2018. Because women were able to access quality education, they went on to occupy positions of responsibility, from medicine to law to journalism and politics, playing an influential role in the transformation of the country. When the Taliban took power in 2021, UNESCO warned the world about the fragility of achievements made in Afghanistan. Knowing full well the de facto authorities’ repressive ideology – despite initial reassuring statements – we reiterated our calls for girls’ right to education to be respected. We pleaded for even greater collective efforts to ensure continuity of quality education for all Afghans, especially girls and women. Unfortunately, our fears were well founded. Since September 2021, 1.2 million Afghan girls and adolescents enrolled in school have been unable to return to their classrooms, leaving them without access to formal education for the last 500 days. The latest setback was the exclusion of women from universities, decided in December 2022, which will prevent them from accessing many professions and affect all spheres of society. Currently, 80% of school-aged Afghan girls and young women – 2.5 million of them – are out of school. The enormous progress that had been achieved in education is quickly vanishing, and Afghanistan risks a lost generation. The immense positive impact that educating girls and women can have must not be underestimated: it extends far beyond individuals, with cascading effects for families, communities and society as a whole. Today, I am not the only one outraged at the thought of all the girls and young women in Afghanistan whose right to education is being violated. They live in the only country in the world where the ruling authorities have banned girls’ access to education above primary level. This situation is unacceptable. Since August 2021, UNESCO has continued to reach out to Afghan girls and women through community-based literacy classes and dedicated radio-based educational programmes. And we will continue to design and promote alternative learning solutions with the support of the international community. But nothing can replace the classroom – a place where students and teachers take part in the learning process, a place of social integration, a place where people learn to live together. As the world celebrates International Day of Education on January 24, UNESCO dedicates this day to Afghan girls and women and calls on the international community to make their rights a priority on its agenda. Their access to education must be restored without delay. The war against women must stop.” Op-ed by Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO | 
