The Taliban has banned education for Afghan girls and women beyond the 6th grade for over three years and higher education for two years. Until recently, the only pathway for education that remained was medical institutions for Afghan women. Two weeks ago, the Taliban announced that female students would be barred from attending medical institutions as well – until further notice.
Shortly after the ban, Afghan women expressed their worries and allies and leaders around the world condemned the Taliban’s new order. With the removal of medical training, Afghan women are left feeling more hopeless than ever before – with one stating “I’m watching my dreams die before my eyes.”
Under the Taliban, Afghan women have lost their rights to work, speaking in public or even loudly at home, and so much more. The country formerly known as the graveyard of empires has now become a graveyard for women’s dreams, hopes, and aspirations.
The Taliban’s decision to close medical institutions is not only a violation of women’s rights, but it is a debilitating decision for the health services in Afghanistan. A previous Taliban edict has already restricted women’s access to health services by banning women from entering health centers without a male guardian and seeing a male doctor. Another edict prevents women health professionals from practicing without a male chaperone, and ordering women not to be employed in outside offices. With this recently announced edict, they are removing women from an already vulnerable health sector.
Before 2021, Afghanistan’s healthcare system heavily relied on women as community healthcare workers to deliver vaccines and to provide midwifery and maternal and child health services. The education and training of midwives was a key factor that decreased maternal mortality by about 64% from 2001-2015. Women strengthened the health workforce by filling the shortage of healthcare workers and supplementing the delivery of care to Afghan citizens, which reinforced two aspects of the WHO’s health system delivery blocks – service delivery and health workforce.
The removal of women from the workforce along with the migration of educated professionals in the health sector, Afghanistan is faced with a severe shortage of health workers. It is also reversing the progress made in the healthcare system during the 20 years of the republic regime, backed by the international community. UN women projects that maternal mortality will rise by 50% and early childbearing will increase by 45% by 2026.
Afghan women are denied their rights only because they are women and they need their allies to stand with them and raise their issues at this dark time.
Sources: Amu TV, Feminist Majority Foundation, Washington Post, National Library of Medicine, Tolo News
