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Afghanistan faces the potential loss of over 25,000 female educators and healthcare professionals by 2030 if the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment are not reversed, according to a recent UNICEF report released Monday.
The Taliban has prohibited women from holding most public sector positions and has restricted girls’ education to only up to age 12. These policies have already impacted at least 1 million girls, a number projected to double if conditions remain unchanged by 2030. UNICEF has urged the Taliban to lift these bans imposed after their return to power in 2021.
The report, titled “The Cost of Inaction on Girls’ Education and Women’s Labour Force Participation in Afghanistan,” highlights a sharp decline in qualified women entering teaching and healthcare roles. By 2030, up to 20,000 female teachers and 5,400 health workers might be lost, representing roughly a quarter of Afghanistan’s workforce from 2021. The situation could worsen, with as many as 9,600 health professionals potentially leaving the workforce by 2035.
“Afghanistan cannot afford to lose its future educators, nurses, doctors, midwives, and social workers who provide critical services,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The ongoing exclusion of girls from education threatens the sustainability of these essential sectors.”
The report notes that female healthcare workers are vital for attending to female patients, and female teachers are preferred in gender-segregated schools whenever feasible. The attrition of these professionals could result in an economic loss of around AFN 5.3 billion ($84 million) annually, which accounts for approximately 0.5% of the country’s gross domestic product.
UNICEF calls on Afghanistan’s interim authorities to protect skills training programs and enable women to participate in the workforce, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the country’s social and economic stability.
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