Content warning: discrimination, misogyny, war

A growing rift is emerging between Taliban officials over their controversial decision to prohibit girls from attending secondary education. The ban, which was initially imposed in September 2021, has sparked significant dissent. Following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces and the Taliban’s subsequent rise to power, some senior members have openly criticised the policy and even left the country in protest.

The restrictive measures, enforced by religious police patrolling large parts of the country, have resulted in an estimated 2.2 million girls being currently deprived of their education, since the new school year commenced. This has triggered varying criticism from within the Taliban, with numerous officials speaking to news outlets under the condition of anonymity, highlighting the widening ideological gap between the ultra-conservative leadership in Kandahar and more moderate voices in Kabul.

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The restrictive measures […] have resulted in an estimated 2.2 million girls being currently deprived of their education

At least one Taliban minister has departed Afghanistan due to the ban according to reports, compelling families to undertake perilous journeys to neighboring countries like Pakistan to ensure their daughters can continue their schooling. According to NBC News, Gulalai, a 15-year-old girl who fled Kabul with her family for Peshawar, Pakistan, recounted the emotional toll of leaving her home and the difficulties of adapting to a new environment where she doesn’t speak the local language. Her father made the decision in order for his children to continue their education. However, with travel agents demanding over $2,000 for each visa, the family’s only option was to bribe officials and cross the border illegally, she said. Gulalai’s story is just one of many, highlighting the profound impact of the Taliban’s policy on the lives and aspirations of young Afghan girls. In January, Malala Yousafzai denounced the state of women’s rights in Afghanistan as ‘gender apartheid’, at a summit on advancing girls’ education in Islamic countries, stating ‘the Taliban…do not see women as human beings’.  The stark reality faced by these families underscores the desperation and the high value placed on education, even in the face of extreme adversity.

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In January, Malala Yousafzai denounced the state of women’s rights in Afghanistan as ‘gender apartheid’ […] stating ‘the Taliban…do not see women as human beings’.

Within the Taliban, the divide appears to be primarily between the hard-line elements based in Kandahar, the stronghold of the group’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and those in the capital, Kabul, who hold more pragmatic views.  Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor applied for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders, including Akhundzada, accusing them of persecuting women and girls. In response to this, an official statement published by the Taliban withdrew Afghanistan from the ICC’s Rome Statute, the treaty which created the ICC in 2002, arguing that the Court operates based on political interests rather than impartial justice.  

Some officials aligned with the more hard-line wings have admitted that barring girls from education was a mistake. One official revealed to NBC News that some Taliban members had ‘openly expressed their views in support of girls’ education,’ hoping to influence the leadership. However, these suggestions were reportedly met with negativity, further highlighting the entrenched nature of the opposition to girls’ schooling within certain factions. 

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some officials aligned with the more hard-line wings have admitted that barring girls from education was a mistake

Despite these internal rumblings, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has publicly denied any significant tensions within the government, acknowledging only occasional ‘differences of opinion.’ However, a rare public rebuke from within the Taliban came from Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Afghanistan’s acting deputy foreign minister. Speaking at a graduation ceremony in January 2025, Stanikzai condemned the ban as an ‘injustice against 20 million people’ that was not in line with Sharia law, requesting ‘the leaders of the Islamic Emirate to open the doors of education’. Within days of his criticism, Stanikzai, a trusted figure through the negotiations process with the U.S in Qatar, left Afghanistan for the United Arab Emirates and refuses to return, even after being approached by Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister. His departure serves as a significant marker of protest against the regime’s policies. 

The consequences of the ban extend beyond the borders of Afghanistan. Many families are risking their lives to flee the country, seeking educational opportunities for their daughters elsewhere. However, even those who manage to escape face significant challenges. Many women studying abroad in Oman, having fled the regime are at risk of imminent deportation to Afghanistan following the cancellation of U.S.-funded scholarships, part of the Trump administration’s cuts to thousands of foreign aid initiatives. Other countries, including Turkey and Iran have strict asylum policies, and in Pakistan, where many Afghan refugees have sought shelter, the government announced a mass deportation drive, with over 800,000 Afghan nationals having been deported between September 2023 and February, raising fears for the future of Afghan families and their access to education.

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Many families are risking their lives to flee the country, seeking educational opportunities for their daughters elsewhere.

Experts believe that a reversal of the Taliban’s stance on girls’ education is unlikely in the near future, despite internal pursue from some of its own members. ‘Vice and virtue’ laws passed last August have prohibited women from speaking in public, showing their faces outside their homes and moving in public spaces without male chaperones, with the law stating that when leaving the home out of necessity, a woman is ‘obliged to conceal her voice, face and body’. Since assuming power, the group’s supreme leader, Akhundzada, has consolidated his authority by appointing hard-line loyalists who support the ban to key positions within the government. According to Yari, the decrees banning girls’ education have not only been implemented as policies but have also been solidified into law, making them even more difficult to overturn.

The growing rifts within the Taliban, while significant, do not yet indicate an imminent change in policy. The entrenched views of the ultra-conservative leadership, coupled with the consolidation of power, suggest that the ban on girls’ secondary education is likely to persist, continuing to deprive millions of young Afghan women of their fundamental right to learn and severely impacting the future of the country.

 

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