The Taliban’s abusive educational policies in Afghanistan have not just harmed women and girls – they also threaten the futures of boys.
Talban authorities have made sweeping changes to education, including dismissing all female teachers in boys’ schools. This has left many boys to be taught by unqualified teachers or sit in classrooms with no teachers at all.
The Taliban have increased the use of corporal punishment in the classroom and regressively altered school curriculum. Some boys and parents that Human Rights Watch spoke to described officials beating boys before the whole school for a haircut, a clothing infraction, or for having a mobile phone.
The Taliban have also eliminated subjects including arts, sports, English, and civic education.
In addition to the sharp decline in the quality of boys’ education, Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crises have placed greater demands on boys to work and support their families, forcing many to leave school altogether. This has all dimmed many boys’ hope for the future.
Afghan boys are also increasingly struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems as services to help are sparse.
Bans on secondary and higher education for girls and women have rightly grabbed global headlines since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. And while boys are not prohibited from attending school beyond the sixth grade as girls are, Taliban policies are causing irreversible damage to the Afghan education system and creating a lost generation of boys as well as girls.
It’s past time the international community responded to the crisis.
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