Aman and Zaynab felt school was still worthwhile, even under the new circumstances. Both are former teachers, and Aman served as a district education director in one of Afghanistan’s provinces. But late last year, the family fled the country. Their primary reason: school had simply become too dangerous for their kids.

Within weeks of their takeover in 2021, the Taliban, who now form Afghanistan’s de facto government, began making sweeping changes to school curricula. They cut courses they considered westernized and, in their view, anti-Islamic, such as civics, art, cultural studies, and human rights. They banned girls from continuing past grade six, and they segregated classrooms. Taliban soldiers patrolled schools, carrying guns, to make sure these orders were followed