KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have deliberately deprived 1.4 million Afghan girls of schooling through bans, a United Nations agency said Thursday. Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans female secondary and higher education.
The Taliban, who took power in 2021, barred education for girls above sixth grade because they said it didn’t comply with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. They didn’t stop it for boys and show no sign of taking the steps needed to reopen classrooms and campuses for girls and women.
UNESCO said at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education since the takeover, an increase of 300,000 since its previous count in April 2023, with more girls reaching the age limit of 12 every year.
“If we add the girls who were already out of school before the bans were introduced, there are now almost 2.5 million girls in the country deprived of their right to education, representing 80% of Afghan school-age girls,” UNESCO said.
The Taliban did not respond to requests for comment.
Access to primary education has also fallen since the Taliban took power in Aug. 2021, with 1.1 million fewer girls and boys attending school, according to UNESCO data.
The U.N. agency warned that authorities have “almost wiped out” two decades of steady progress for education in Afghanistan. “ The future of an entire generation is now in jeopardy,” it added.
It said Afghanistan had 5.7 million girls and boys in primary school in 2022, compared with 6.8 million in 2019. The enrollment drop was the result of the Taliban decision to bar female teachers from teaching boys, UNESCO said, but could also be explained by a lack of parental incentive to send their children to school in an increasingly tough economic environment.
“UNESCO is alarmed by the harmful consequences of this increasingly massive drop-out rate, which could lead to a rise in child labor and early marriage,” it said.
The Taliban celebrated three years of rule Wednesday at Bagram Air Base, but there was no mention of the country’s hardships, nor promises to help the struggling population.
Decades of conflict and instability have left millions of Afghans on the brink of hunger and starvation and unemployment is high.
FILE - Afghan school girls attend their classroom on the first day of the new school year, in Kabul, Saturday, March 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
LOS ALTOS, Calif. & DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 11, 2025--
Bidgely joins fellow energy industry thought leaders in a series of live discussions at the upcoming DistribuTECH International conference in Dallas, Texas, taking place March 24 - 27. As an award-winning top AI company in the energy space, Bidgely and its pioneering utility partners will share their success implementing AI to achieve critical initiatives, including holistic EV programs, grid modernization and more.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250311979490/en/
“Changes to the energy landscape, particularly EVs, renewable energy and increased peak demand, have necessitated the use of AI technology to align real-time consumer load impact with long-term forecast planning,” said Abhay Gupta, CEO of Bidgely. “At DistribuTECH 2025, we will see an exciting compilation of AI success stories that showcase how utilities are building smarter, stronger grids.”
Featured Bidgely DistribuTECH Sessions
Beyond Managed Charging:How Utilities Are Building a Holistic EV Management Program, From Detection to Grid Planning to Load Shift
T uesday, March 25, 10:00 - 10:50am local time, featuring:
The session will explore how utilities are developing comprehensive AI-powered EV management programs that detect EVs, analyze charging patterns and identify impact on specific grid assets to maximize load-shift value and optimize grid resilience.
Distributed Intelligence and Evolving AMI (AMI 1.0 to 2.0): A Playbook for Utilities Leading the Grid Transformation
T uesday, March 25, 2:00 - 2:50pm local time
This session will showcase the seamless transition from AMI 1.0 to AMI 2.0 smart meters that minimizes disruption to operations and customer coverage, while building a future-ready grid that meets evolving demands.
Smart Grid Future:How Utilities Are Building a Smarter Grid With AI, Dynamic Rates, and Customer Coaching
W ednesday, March 26, 10:00 - 10:50am local time
This session will highlight best practices and lessons turned from using TOU rates and AI-enabled solutions to bridge the gap between customer engagement and flexible grid management.
Peer-to-Peer Exchanges and Live Demonstrations
Ramanathan will also lead an interactive roundtable focused on how AI and GenAI are driving personalization, enabling real-time grid intelligence, and unlocking new demand flexibility opportunities to future-proof the energy ecosystem.
Additionally, Bidgely will host GenAI talks at Booth 1323 in the EXPO Theater in partnership with the Net Zero Alliance, Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27, from 11:30am -12:30pm — GenAI: Transforming Customer and Grid Operations.
To schedule a meeting with Bidgely during DistribuTECH 2025, visit bidgely.com/events/dtech.
About Bidgely
Bidgely is an AI-powered SaaS Company accelerating a clean energy future by enabling energy companies and consumers to make data-driven energy-related decisions. Powered by our unique patented technology, Bidgely's UtilityAI™ Platform transforms multiple dimensions of customer data - such as energy consumption, demographics, and interactions - into deeply accurate and actionable consumer energy insights. We leverage these insights to empower each customer with personalized recommendations, tailored to their individual personality and lifestyle, usage attributes, behavioral patterns, purchase propensity, and beyond. From a distributed energy resources (DER) and grid edge perspective, Bidgely is advancing smart meter innovation with data-driven solutions for solar PVs, electric vehicle (EV) detection, EV behavioral load shifting and managed charging, energy theft, short-term load forecasting, grid analytics, and time of use (TOU) rate designs. Bidgely’s UtilityAI™ energy analytics provides deep visibility into generation and consumption for better peak load shaping and grid planning, and delivers targeted recommendations for new value-added products and services. With roots in Silicon Valley, Bidgely has over 16 energy patents, $75M+ in funding, retains 30+ data scientists, and brings a passion for AI to utilities serving residential and commercial customers around the world. For more information, please visit www.bidgely.com or the Bidgely blog at bidgely.com/blog.
Bidgely and its utility partners will showcase the power of AI for innovative energy management at DistribuTECH 2025. (Photo: Business Wire)
