More Than 700 Kilograms Of Opium Seized In Badakhshan, Says Taliban

The ministry said the land had been identified as government property based on a ruling by the special court dealing with cases involving usurped land.

According to the statement, the land is located seven kilometres from Mest village in Yusuf Khel district and was referred to the special court after being reviewed by the commission for preventing land usurpation and recovering seized land.

The Taliban’s Justice Ministry added that, under the court ruling, the land will be handed over to the commission responsible for preventing land usurpation and recovering seized property.

The ministry said the process of identifying and reclaiming usurped government land is continuing across Afghanistan.

After returning to power, the Taliban established a commission to prevent land usurpation and recover seized land. Over the past five years, the commission has confiscated thousands of acres of land in different parts of the country.

But five years of education bans have changed the course of her life. She still has no 12th-grade certificate, and the path to university and many job opportunities remains closed.

If the ban on girls’ education continues, Afghanistan could face shortages of thousands of female teachers, doctors and midwives by 2030, with consequences that will reshape education, the economy and the health system.

This report examines how this deprivation could affect education, health, the economy, the labour market, the generation of professional women, and children raised by mothers denied access to education by 2030.

Hundreds of Thousands of Women and Girls Deprived

Reports by UNESCO and UNICEF, both UN agencies, show that 2.2 million adolescent girls in Afghanistan are currently denied access to secondary education.

UNICEF estimates that every additional year the ban continues will prevent about 250,000 more girls from continuing their education. If the restrictions remain in place, more than two million additional girls could be denied education beyond primary school by 2030.

Mirwais Balkhi, former education minister of Afghanistan, says the continuation of the current situation is deepening both the educational gap between women and men and Afghanistan’s knowledge gap with the rest of the world each year.

According to him, the divide between women and men, and between Afghanistan and the world, is widening.

Balkhi says the exclusion of girls, the declining number of female teachers, limited alternative education and the expansion of ideological instruction have weakened Afghanistan’s academic and educational capacity.

He believes Afghanistan’s education system has undergone a structural collapse, with the Taliban reducing the concept of education largely to basic literacy in reading and writing, while many children fail to acquire even these fundamental skills.

Abdul Ghafoor Arezo, Afghanistan’s former ambassador to Tajikistan, also told Afghanistan International that hostility towards knowledge may not endure indefinitely, but it can hold back a society’s progress for years.

Arezo said that because of Taliban restrictions on women, Afghanistan is heading towards deeper backwardness and greater darkness by 2030, while its civic and academic achievements are being lost.

These warnings come as Afghanistan had been on a very different path before the Taliban returned to power. The number of female university students rose from about 5,000 in 2001 to more than 100,000 by 2021. Many were only months away from graduating.

That progress has now stopped. Even if universities reopen, the generation that was expected to enter the workforce between 2021 and 2030 will no longer exist in the same form. The first signs of this gap are expected to emerge in education and healthcare.

UNESCO has raised concerns extending far beyond the next four years, saying that if the suspension of women’s higher education continues, it could reduce Afghanistan’s economic potential by about $9.6 billion by 2066.

That figure is close to two-thirds of the country’s current gross domestic product.

A recent UNICEF assessment shows that if the restrictions continue, Afghanistan could lose about 20,000 female teachers by 2030 through retirement and migration.

The agency has also warned of the possible loss of 5,400 female health workers. Together, these workers account for nearly a quarter of the female workforce employed in those two sectors in 2021.

Who Will Treat Afghanistan’s Women?

Restrictions on girls’ education have not only emptied classrooms. They have also halted the training of thousands of female doctors, midwives, nurses and other health workers at a time when Afghanistan’s healthcare system needs them more than ever.

In many parts of Afghanistan, particularly rural areas, women seek treatment only at health facilities where female staff are available. As a result, the shortage of female doctors and midwives is not merely an educational issue; it directly affects millions of women’s access to healthcare.

In 2023, the Taliban also stopped women from studying at medical institutes.

Dr Abdul Hakim Tamanna, former head of public health in Herat and a senior public health specialist, says the healthcare crisis will become visible well before 2030.

He says some female health workers will reach retirement age. Others will migrate because of restrictions and difficult living conditions, while some will leave their jobs under growing work pressure.

According to him, the central problem is that no women are being trained to replace them.

Rising Maternal and Infant Deaths

Afghanistan already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

The World Health Organisation says one woman dies during childbirth in Afghanistan every two hours.

UNICEF has warned that a decline in the number of female doctors and midwives could lead to 1,600 additional maternal deaths and more than 3,500 additional infant deaths.

Dr Tamanna says the absence of female health workers deprives women of pregnancy and childbirth services, treatment for illnesses and preventive care.

According to him, rising maternal deaths, infant deaths and disabilities among women also break families apart. A child who loses their mother during childbirth faces greater risks related to nutrition, health, education and family support.

He describes the outlook for Afghanistan’s health system in 2030, if the current situation continues, as a humanitarian catastrophe and says the long-term cost of illness, death and disability among women could reach tens of billions of dollars.

The World Health Organisation says nearly half of all deaths in Afghanistan are caused by non-communicable diseases, and their share is expected to increase by 2030.

Despite this, the Taliban does not allow women to study midwifery or nursing. The UN Population Fund has estimated that if the ban on girls’ education continues, Afghanistan could face a shortage of about 18,000 midwives and more than 7,000 female doctors by 2030.

This shortage would reduce the health system’s capacity to provide services to millions of women.

Afghanistan’s Economy Becomes More Male-Dominated

Experts say banning women from education will affect Afghanistan’s economy for years. A country where half the population is denied education and many employment opportunities loses a major share of its productive, innovative and economic potential.

An economics professor at an Afghan university, who asked not to be named because of security concerns, says excluding women from education shrinks Afghanistan’s human capital.

He says educating women is an economic investment. An educated woman can work, increase household income, build a business and contribute to production and services.

According to him, excluding women from education makes families more dependent on the income of a single man. Illness, unemployment, disability or the death of that man can push the entire family into poverty.

World Bank data shows that women’s labour force participation in Afghanistan stood at about 5.1 per cent in 2025, compared with 69.8 per cent for men. Women accounted for only 6.8 per cent of the country’s total workforce.

UN Women says 78 per cent of young Afghan women are neither in education, employment nor skills training. The figure for young men is 20 per cent.

The UN Development Programme estimates that restrictions imposed on women and girls caused nearly $920 million in losses to Afghanistan’s economy between 2024 and 2026, equivalent to about 5.8 per cent of the country’s GDP.

UNICEF has also estimated that the direct annual economic loss caused by restrictions on women’s education and economic participation is at least $84 million.

The economics professor says the situation also reduces employment opportunities for men.

When a school or health centre becomes weak or closes because of the lack of female teachers or health workers, male employees, drivers, guards, shopkeepers and related service companies also lose income.

According to him, Afghanistan’s economy will become even more dependent on foreign aid by 2030.

Mothers’ Deprivation Harms Children’s Opportunities

Years of educational deprivation for girls could also affect the children they will have in the future.

Research by the World Bank, UNESCO and UNICEF shows that a mother’s education is one of the most important factors determining children’s health, nutrition and education.

Women with more education generally seek healthcare earlier, are more likely to send their children to school and invest more in their nutrition and development.

UNICEF analysis shows a strong relationship between mothers’ education and children’s vaccination, healthy height and weight, and access to antenatal care.

The agency has warned that declining levels of education among women could worsen the health of mothers and children.

A former female lecturer at Kabul University who still lives in Afghanistan says that in a household where the mother has no independent income, all expenses depend on a single breadwinner.

Such families are more vulnerable to unemployment, illness, drought and displacement.

She said family poverty can also force a child out of school. In this way, denying education to today’s girl may mean fewer opportunities for tomorrow’s child.

According to her, in poor families, when girls are denied education and employment, pressure for early marriage also increases.

The United Nations estimates that the education ban could increase child marriage by 25 per cent and put about 37 per cent of Afghan girls at risk of marriage before the age of 18.

She said girls excluded from school face the same unanswered question every day: when will they be able to return to a normal life?

A UN Women assessment shows that during the first three months of 2024, about 21 per cent of women surveyed had not had a single social interaction with a woman outside their own family.

This isolation was reported more frequently in urban areas.

Migration Deepens the Shortage of Specialists

Those interviewed by Afghanistan International believe the country is losing two generations at the same time: a new generation of women denied access to specialist education, and part of the existing generation of skilled women and men who are leaving the country.

Dr Tamana says work pressure, restrictions and the absence of a clear future are pushing some educated women to leave Afghanistan.

He says families that can afford to do so are also moving abroad to educate their daughters.

As these families leave, Afghanistan simultaneously loses knowledge, experience, capital and labour.

What Will Afghanistan Look Like in 2030?

Afghanistan in 2030 will still carry the effects of five years of girls being denied education, even if schools and universities reopen before then.

Reopening educational institutions could prevent the crisis from becoming even worse, but it cannot erase the years already lost.

Recovering from those lost years would require a broad programme of remedial education, returning women to universities, urgently training teachers and health workers, and creating employment opportunities.

Basir Ahmad Danishyar, a university lecturer who has since moved to Germany, says that if the current situation continues, Afghanistan will lose a large share of its human capital and academic capacity.

The country will face declining knowledge production, reduced innovation and increasing difficulty in training skilled professionals.

Universities and higher education institutions will face shortages of lecturers, researchers and specialised staff.

Migration will increase, development indicators will deteriorate, and valuable opportunities for sustainable development, particularly in knowledge, research and scientific production, will be lost further.

For many countries, 2030 is expected to be a milestone for assessing global development goals. Countries are working to expand equal access to education, healthcare, technology and employment.

Countries across the region are training increasing numbers of female doctors, engineers, researchers and specialists every year.

Balkhi says that under such circumstances, Afghanistan will be pushed to the scientific margins of the region.

In his view, a system that does not nurture critical thinking, skills and specialised knowledge cannot prepare the human resources required for development.

Every year of delay increases the number of girls who grow beyond school age and take on new family responsibilities.

According to the sources, the delegation requested a meeting with Akhundzada during a visit to Kandahar on Monday.

Over the past five years, the Taliban leader has not met any foreign official apart from the prime minister of Qatar.

The sources said the foreign delegation included officials from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Finance Corporation.

The delegation raised the request during a meeting with Mullah Shirin, the Taliban governor of Kandahar, but it was not accepted.

Two separate sources told Afghanistan International that before the request was even conveyed to the Taliban leader, members of the delegation were told during the same meeting that such a meeting could not be arranged.

The delegation included Wagma Mohmand, head of the International Finance Corporation’s Kabul office, as well as other women.

According to one source, after receiving the response, the international delegation dropped the request and continued with the rest of its programme.

This is not the first time foreign delegations visiting Kandahar have sought a meeting with the Taliban leader.

Hibatullah Akhundzada is among the most internationally isolated leaders. He has made no foreign trips over the past five years.

Since August 2021, representatives of various countries, UN officials and delegations from international organisations have sought meetings with the Taliban leader, but those efforts have been unsuccessful.

Rather than meeting foreign representatives directly, the Taliban leader maintains communications through his office and a limited number of channels.

One source said there are concerns within the Taliban leadership that direct meetings with foreign officials could affect the leader’s security, the confidentiality of decision-making and his policy of maintaining a limited public presence. For that reason, his close advisers prevent such meetings from taking place.

Political analysts say that although the day-to-day administration of the Taliban government is handled by ministers and other officials, major political and strategic decisions are still made in Hibatullah Akhundzada’s office.

As a result, direct access to him could be influential for representatives of international organisations and foreign governments.

Over the past five years, the international community has been unable to influence Hibatullah Akhundzada’s decisions on policies it opposes, including restrictions on women and girls’ education and employment.

The Taliban-run National Disaster Management Authority released the figures on Monday, saying assessments by rescue teams were still under way and that the death toll and extent of the damage could change.

The authority has not yet provided further details about the scale of the disaster.

Heavy rain on Monday evening triggered devastating floods in Parun, the capital of Nuristan province.

Fereydoun Samim, spokesman for the Taliban governor in Nuristan, told state television that the floods had caused millions of afghanis in financial losses to residents of the province.

He also said the mayor of Parun and several of his guards were among those killed.

However, local sources in Nuristan told Afghanistan International that the bodies of 43 people who had gone missing in the floods had so far been recovered.

According to the sources, the mayor of Parun and several Taliban members were among those identified as dead.

Images and videos from the scene show that the floods completely destroyed the Parun municipality building and the base of the Taliban’s First Battalion.

Following the disaster, the Taliban governor in Nuristan sent a message to the group’s leaders calling for an urgent response and the immediate dispatch of emergency assistance to the affected areas.

The Taliban Defence Ministry said on Monday that Noor Rahman Nusrat, the army’s director of military operations, met Tajik Ambassador Saadi Sharifi to discuss border issues.

In a statement issued on Monday, 20 July, the ministry said the two sides emphasised relations based on goodwill and stronger bilateral cooperation.

The statement gave no further details about the discussions.

The meeting came a day after unidentified gunmen attacked a Taliban border battalion in Khwahan district of Badakhshan early on Sunday, 19 July.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban forces detained several local residents in connection with the incident.

The Taliban border battalion was reportedly targeted at about 2am with rockets and several types of weapons.

Khwahan is a district in north-eastern Badakhshan province, located along the Panj River and sharing a border with Tajikistan.

Taliban Focuses on Controlling Badakhshan

The Taliban has recently intensified efforts to suppress unrest and strengthen control in Badakhshan.

In recent weeks, senior Taliban security officials, including Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat and intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq, have travelled to Badakhshan amid growing local discontent.

During his visit, Mullah Yaqoob inspected border areas near Pakistan, China and Tajikistan.

Early on Friday, the newly formed Sepah-e Mihan group briefly seized Yaftal district in Badakhshan for several hours. The Taliban is concerned that growing local dissatisfaction could lead to the loss of control over parts of the province.

Central Asian countries also have security concerns, particularly that increasing instability could allow militant groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda to gain strength in border areas.

Regional Security Concerns

Russian and Central Asian officials discussed mechanisms for addressing security threats at the third meeting of Russia-Central Asia Security Council secretaries.

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said at the 21st meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Security Council secretaries on 14 May that between 18,000 and 23,000 militants belonging to more than 20 groups were active in Afghanistan.

He said developments in Afghanistan were of particular importance to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states.