UNICEF has called on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to lift their ban on girls’ secondary education as the new school year begins.

The UN children’s agency said the ban deprives another 400,000 girls of their schooling this term, bringing the total since its introduction to 2.2 million.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans female secondary and higher education, with the Taliban saying women’s access to education is contrary to its interpretation of sharia law.