Comparison

Afghanistan vs Mongolia

Side-by-side comparison of how these places approach childhood.

At a glance

Afghanistan

Since 2021, Afghan girls over 12 are banned from attending school.

The Taliban's return ended two decades of progress in girls' education, affecting 1.4 million secondary-school girls.

Mongolia

Mongolian children as young as five race horses across the open steppe in national festivals.

During Naadam festival, children jockeys ride bareback for 15-30 km across open grassland in a tradition dating back centuries.

How they compare
Child independence expectations
Afghanistan
Mongolia
Low High
Structured enrichment emphasis
Afghanistan
Mongolia
Low High
Risk tolerance in play
Afghanistan
Mongolia
Low High
School systems
Gender-restricted crisis model

Afghanistan

Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, girls above grade 6 are banned from school and women from universities. Boys' education continues but with revised curriculum emphasizing religious studies. Before 2021, enrollment had risen from near-zero for girls to 3.5 million.

Post-Soviet reformed model with nomadic adaptations

Mongolia

Mongolia follows a 5-4-3 structure with 12 years of compulsory education. Mongolian is the language of instruction in Cyrillic script. Boarding schools serve nomadic herder families. English is taught from grade 5.

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โ† Afghanistan profile ยท Mongolia profile โ†’