CBS News gained rare access on September 9, 2026, to a clandestine school in Kabul where Afghan teenage girls are pursuing education in defiance of Taliban restrictions. Since the Taliban's 2021 return to power, girls have been barred from education past sixth grade; this hidden school operates in a quiet corner of Kabul with students composing letters to the world about their plight.
No BS check run yet — press ⚖ to extract this story's claims and verify them against independent sources.
After the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan, they barred girls and women from getting an education past the sixth grade. In a quiet corner of Kabul, a secret school is defying the ban. CBS News' Imtiaz Tyab was invited inside to hear their stories.
Five years ago, the Taliban barred young women in Afghanistan from getting an education past sixth grade. Imtiaz Tyab gets a rare look inside a school where teenagers risk their lives to study in secret.
Afghanistan, now once again under Taliban control, has banned girls from school after the sixth grade. Imtiaz Tyab found a secret school hidden in a quiet corner of Kabul, where girls aged 14 to 16 are working through advanced calculus.