According to a new report from the United Nations, over 3 million Afghan girls are denied access to education, leaving them with a bleak future. The report, entitled “Afghanistan Education: An Overview of Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward,” was released by the UN’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The report found that the majority of girls lack access to quality education and are unable to attend school due to a number of factors, including gender-based discrimination, poverty, and insecurity. In Afghanistan, only 43 percent of school-aged girls are enrolled in school, compared to 70 percent of boys.
The report also found that women and girls suffer from a lack of access to higher education. Only 15 percent of university students are female, and only 12 percent of university faculty members are women.
The report made a number of recommendations to improve access to education for girls, including increasing funding for girls’ education, increasing access to quality education, and improving gender equality in the classroom. The report also urged the government to take steps to ensure that girls have safe access to education, and that their families are supported financially and socially in order to reduce the burden of school fees and other costs associated with sending