8 in 10 female secondary school pupils in Afghanistan ‘missing out’ on education’

Around eight in ten female secondary school pupils in Afghanistan are missing out on their education, according to new research.

A study, by Save the Children and UNICEF, found nearly 80 per cent of girls - which amounts to around 850,000 girls – have had their right to an education blocked in provinces where secondary schools have stayed closed for girls.

The report, which looked into how many girl students have gone back to school in the past month in Afghanistan, comes a month after the Taliban prolonged their ban on girls of secondary school age going to school. The authorities urged girls to stay home on 23 March.