"Matiullah Wesa, head of @PenPath1 and advocate for girls’ education, was arrested in Kabul on Monday. UNAMA calls on the de facto authorities to clarify his whereabouts, the reasons for his arrest and to ensure his access to legal representation and contact with family," the UNAMA said on Twitter.

After the Taliban returned to power to Afghanistan in 2021, it ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations in the country to suspend the work of their female employees.

Female education was suspended in private and state higher education institutions, and secondary education for girls has been prohibited.

The decision of the Afghan authorities has been harshly criticized by a number of international organizations and global leaders.

According to a UNICEF report released last August, the fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the country's economy at least $500 million since the introduction of the ban, which is the equivalent of 2.5 percent of GDP.

If three million girls had been able to finish their education and enter the workforce, they would have added at least $5.4 billion to Afghanistan's economy, the report added.

(With UNI inputs)