Approximately 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan remain barred from secondary education five years after the Taliban’s return to power, a UN agency has reported, leading to renewed calls for their right to study to be immediately restored. Speaking at a video press conference, Unesco’s program coordinator for education in emergencies, Hoda Jaberian, said: "Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are formally banned from secondary and higher education." Jaberian added: "Unesco continues to call for the immediate and unconditional restoration of girls and women's right to secondary and higher education.