Afghan girls read the holy Koran at a Madrassa in August 2024. (Photo credit: WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
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October 11 marks the International Day of the Girl Child, a day designated by the U.N. General Assembly to strengthen the work towards empowering girls. As the resolution establishing the day emphasizes, “empowerment of and investment in girls, which are critical for economic growth, the achievement of all Millennium Development Goals, including the eradication of poverty and extreme poverty, as well as the meaningful participation of girls in decisions that affect them, are key in breaking the cycle of discrimination and violence and in promoting and protecting the full and effective enjoyment of their human rights.”
At the centre of the empowerment of girls is education. Education is an investment which can help build prosperous, healthy and equitable societies. It can also break the cycle of poverty and reduce inequalities. Over the last 30 years, significant progress has been made to ensure that girls have access to education, with nearly 91 million more girls in primary school and 136 million more in secondary school. Furthermore, the last three decades have seen women’s enrollment in tertiary education triple to 139 million. This progress must be recognized. However, some 133 million girls remain out of school.
In 2025, there is no worse place for girls’ education than Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Since taking over Afghanistan, the Taliban have been imposing restrictions on girls and women to exclude them from all aspects of their lives. As identified by UNICEF, the ban on girls’ secondary education has already excluded around 2.2 million adolescent girls. If the ban persists, UNICEF estimates that by 2030, nearly four million girls will be denied the chance to pursue secondary education, also excluding them from any chance to engage in tertiary education. UNICEF further warns that this will have a serious effect on Afghanistan as a whole, with severe socio-economic consequences, as the suspension of women’s higher education in Afghanistan may lead to potential losses of $9.6 billion by 2066, some two-thirds of the current national GDP. Furthermore, the denial of education has a profound effect on children, especially girls. Those who leave school at an early age are vulnerable to unemployment, poverty, early marriage, and pregnancy.
UNICEF further indicated that Afghanistan’s education system stands at a critical crossroads, with “mounting pressures from restrictive policies, chronic underinvestment, and recurring humanitarian crises jeopardizing the future of an entire generation and putting the country’s development at risk.” According to the new Afghanistan Education Situation Report 2025 by UNICEF and UNESCO, more than 2.13 million primary school-aged children remain out of school as of 2024, while the majority of those who attend are learning too little. Their 2022 analysis suggests that learning poverty remains at unprecedented levels, with more than 90% of 10-year-olds unable to read even a simple text. Further challenges include: teacher shortages, limited materials, curriculum changes, weak oversight, poor infrastructure, lack of clean water, sanitation, or heating in schools, among others. Furthermore, some 1,000 schools remain closed.
The 2025 theme for the International Day of the Girl is: “The girl I am, the change I lead: Girls on the frontlines of crisis.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, marking the day, emphasized: “Our world is besieged by crises. Conflicts are exploding. Climate disasters are accelerating. Displacement is at record highs and it is often girls who pay the highest price. When crises hit, sexual violence and maternal mortality soar. Child marriage in situations of fragility is nearly two times higher than the world average. Girls are routinely locked out of decisions that shape their lives. But as this year’s theme reminds us, girls are also leading on solutions. Around the world, girls are driving movements for gender justice, education, climate change and so much more.” He further called upon States to prioritize their rights and invest in their opportunities, not only because it is right, but because it is essential for peaceful, prosperous societies. He added, “Every girl, everywhere, deserves equality, opportunity and dignity. On this International Day of the Girl Child, let’s commit to building a better world for girls.”
As we mark 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, the world’s blueprint for gender equality, the International Day of the Girl must be used to revitalize the efforts to ensure that the rights of girls and women are guaranteed.