Five years after Kabul, Taliban celebrations sit alongside a generation shut out of school

As officials and supporters marked five years since the Taliban’s return, UNESCO says 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education.

·Published 17 August 2026 at 03:00·1 min read

A view across Kabul, the Afghan capital. — Kabul, where anniversary gatherings were held on 15 August. File image. — Olga Mielnikiewicz (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Taliban officials and supporters marked five years since the movement’s return to power with meetings and street celebrations in Kabul on 15 August.

The UNESCO figure

The anniversary coincided with a warning from UNESCO that about 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education. The agency says Afghanistan remains the only country where women and girls are formally barred from both secondary and higher education.

Beyond the classroom

The restrictions extend beyond classrooms, affecting access to work and public life. The Taliban’s return to power on 15 August 2021 brought the bans into place, despite repeated international calls for them to be lifted.

The anniversary underscores a contrast between an official celebration of political survival and a prolonged restriction with lasting consequences for education and public life.

AfghanistanEducationHuman RightsTaliban

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