Nearly half of children aged between 7 and 17 years old – 3.7 million – in Afghanistan are being deprived of school.
The ongoing conflict and worsening security situation across the country – combined with deeply engrained poverty and discrimination against girls – have pushed the numbers of out-of-school children up for the first time since 2002 levels.
The study calls for continued government and civil society action to address the issue of children deprived of school, especially girls, and identifies four key action points, including:
1) targeting provinces with disproportionately high rates of out-of-school girls, including working with religious leaders and other groups to advocate for increased education, especially for girls;
2) ensuring girls’ learning facilities meet basic security and health standards, including toilets, handwashing facilities and safe drinking water;
3) recruiting and building the capacity of female teachers; and
4) addressing child marriage.
