UNESCO reports that more than 2 million Afghan girls are currently blocked from attending school by the Taliban.

Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Aug 18, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictTrue

Sources: 4 support1 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 90%

The Michael Berry ShowAug 18, 2026

UNESCO's August 2026 statement, reported by Reuters and AP (both tier1), says an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls are barred from secondary education under Taliban rule, which supports the claim's 'more than 2 million' figure.

This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.

What was said

… followed still, to this day, shock the conscience: the crowds of desperate Afghans on the tarmac or packed into planes, trying desperately to escape, or the 13 American service members killed in the Abu Ghraib bombing, along with countless Afghan civilians. Five years later, more than 2 million Afghan girls are currently blocked from attending school by the Taliban, according to UNESCO. It's now legal in Afghanistan for men to beat their wives, as long as they don't break any bones or leave any lasting injuries. …

The Michael Berry Show · Aug 18, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. Reuters reports UNESCO's statement that the Taliban have barred an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls from secondary education since 2021.[1]

Supports. AP reports that UNESCO said an estimated 2.4 million Afghan girls remain excluded from secondary education five years after the Taliban takeover.[2]

Supports. UN News and AFP/France 24 both attribute the 2.4 million figure to UNESCO and describe the ban as ongoing.[3][4]

Context. The ban covers secondary and higher education, not primary school, so 'attending school' in the claim is a looser phrasing of the same figure.[1][5]