KABUL, Afghanistan: The Afghan girls’ education ban is leaving young women with few paths beyond marriage, as Taliban rules keep girls out of formal schooling after the primary level.
Alia, 19, told the BBC she fled Daykundi for Kabul last year to avoid a forced marriage. She enrolled in a private English course after reaching the capital by taxi with a female cousin.
The Taliban barred girls over 12 from school after returning to power in 2021. The United Nations says more than two million girls could lose education beyond the primary level if the ban continues until 2030.
In west Kabul, Shama said she wanted to become a doctor before her mother pushed her into marriage at 18. Her mother, Kamila, said she feared Taliban foot soldiers would question why her daughter remained unmarried.
Read: Afghan girls defying Taliban’s ban on female learning
Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat told the BBC that around seven million boys and five million girls were studying. He called education beyond grade six a separate issue and referred questions to the education ministry.
The BBC said the education ministry did not respond. Women interviewed by the broadcaster said the school ban had increased pressure on girls to marry.
