Higher Education Under Taliban Rule: Gender Apartheid, Distribution of Degrees to Clerics, and the Collapse of Learning

Since the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan’s higher education system has been severely ideologized and stripped of educational justice. The Taliban recently announced the schedule for the 1404 (2025) university entrance exam (Kankor), allowing only boys to participate. The exam will begin on May 27 (7th of Jawza) and continue until July 11 (20th of Saratan) in five phases.
At the same time, the Taliban are distributing large numbers of academic degrees to their affiliated clerics. Over just the past month, more than two thousand clerics in the provinces of Herat and Farah have been awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees. According to the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education, these certificates are categorized as “Aaliya” (equivalent to bachelor’s) and “Alamiya” (equivalent to master’s), with many recipients having graduated from religious seminaries in Pakistan.
Systematic Discrimination Against Girls
While universities for boys remain partially open, girls are banned from attending secondary schools and higher education institutions. International organizations such as the World Bank have warned that such policies are a serious threat to Afghanistan’s future. According to the World Bank, the continued ban on girls’ education will likely reduce economic growth, deepen poverty, and prolong Afghanistan’s dependence on humanitarian aid.
UNICEF has similarly reported that if the ban persists until 2030, over four million girls will be affected, resulting in economic losses estimated at $7.2 billion—equivalent to 12.6% of Afghanistan’s 2022 GDP. Additionally, the loss of approximately 15,000 female professionals, including teachers and healthcare workers, will have catastrophic social consequences.
The Collapse of the Educational System and Spread of Extremist Ideology
Reports from international organizations, including UNESCO, indicate that Afghanistan is facing one of the world’s worst educational crises. Under the Taliban, curricula are being rewritten, modern sciences restricted, and education is being weaponized as a tool to spread extremist ideology.
Analysts emphasize that denying girls access to education is not just an educational crisis—it is a deliberate strategy to suppress women and entrench a male-dominated, extremist system. Education has been transformed from a means of empowerment into an instrument of political and religious indoctrination.
Severe Social and International Implications
The ban on girls’ education and the non-transparent distribution of academic degrees to Taliban clerics have deeply undermined the credibility of educational institutions. These practices are likely to lead to reduced international aid, deeper impoverishment, and global isolation for Afghanistan.
The Afghan Women’s Justice Movement stresses that the international community must take urgent and concrete action to support girls’ education and prevent the complete collapse of Afghanistan’s educational system and the institutionalization of gender apartheid.