Oxfam warns of threat to Afghan girls' education

KABUL, Afghanistan - Progress made on ensuring girls in Afghanistan go to school is at risk as foreign countries prepare to withdraw from the war-torn country, a coalition of 16 aid agencies warned on Thursday.

The number of girls in education has risen from 5,000 in 2001 when the Taliban were ousted, to 2.4 million today, although many do not attend regularly and are forced to drop out early, the study from groups including Oxfam said.

It added that many donors are increasingly focusing on counter-insurgency projects rather than education ahead of Afghanistan's army and police taking control of security in 2014 from international troops.