The Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country after two decades of war.

Five years after the Taliban returned to power, millions of Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education. UNESCO warns of lasting social and economic consequences.

UNESCO said 2.4 million Afghan girls remain barred from secondary education nearly five years after the Taliban returned to power. The agency said the continued ban has reversed earlier gains and must be lifted without conditions.

An estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban took over the country, a U.N. agency said Tuesday, renewing a call for an immediate restorat

The Taliban has maintained the ban despite appeals from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, humanrights advocates, and several Islamic countries, insisting the issue is a domestic matter.

UNESCO says 2.4 million Afghan girls are locked out of secondary school five years after the Taliban banned female education beyond the primary level.