Although the number of women attending tertiary education institutions in Afghanistan has increased slightly in the past 40 years, their participation is meagre compared with that of neighbouring Western countries (Jamal, 2016). This chapter interrogates agency and how it applies to women accessing tertiary education in Afghanistan, a country where cultural norms dictate that women are dependent on men. Bourdieu’s theory of practice (1977) provides the theoretical lens for this chapter. Data for the study were derived from semi-structured online interviews with twenty university-educated Afghan women and ten Afghan lecturers, all of whom were no longer living in Afghanistan. The authors argue that cultural dependence significantly diminishes the agency of Afghan women when it comes to pursing formal education. In a context where traditional norms and gender roles are deeply embedded, women often encountered barriers that restricted their educational opportunities. Data from this research suggest that social pressures are derived from a family structure, where mostly a man is the head of the family. Findings indicate that Afghan men not only restrict women’s participation in education but also shape their perceptions of self-esteem and potential. This dependence is manifested in various forms, all of which serve to undermine women’s agency.